Added sugars & low-calorie sweeteners

Scientific evidence, expert groups, and the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines recommend decreasing caloric intake from added sugars. The 2016 update of the Nutrition Facts Panel by the FDA now requires food labels to report grams of added sugars in foods (beginning January 1, 2020). Even though 75% of packaged foods purchased in the United States contain added sweeteners, it has been hard for consumers to tell whether foods contained added sugars or low-calorie sweeteners, both due to lack of labeling and to the extensive names that manufacturers have for different sweeteners. Our team has created printable lists to help people identify sources of sugar and/or sweetener in products at the grocery store or in your pantry.

Download a printable 1-page version here.

List of ingredient names or words used for "sugar" in packaged food labels
List of ingredient names or words used for "low-calorie sweeteners" (including sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners) in packaged food labels