Good news to share this month! Results of a recent nationwide survey showed that most consumers (76%) are now limiting or avoiding sugar. As a reader of our newsletter, you know that substituting sugary drinks with a healthy choice is a good way to do this. However, identifying a healthy choice at the grocery store can be difficult due to the complexity of product labels.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates much of what is written on the labels of packaged food and drinks. This includes important information such as the Nutrition Facts Panel and the ingredient list. But manufacturers can also highlight other features using words and/or pictures based on what might help sell their product. These are not regulated by FDA. We have listed a few examples here of unregulated claims that you might see on the labels of sugary drinks.
“Made with real fruit juice”: Often drinks with this claim have very little fruit (or vegetable) juice and are mostly water and sugar. FDA does require the percent of juice to be included on the label. This information can be found next to the Nutrition Facts Panel. The healthiest choice is one that is 100% juice.
“Natural flavors”: This claim implies there are no artificial ingredients to flavor the sugary drink. It doesn’t relate to the presence or amount of added sugar.
“100% Vitamin C”: The addition of vitamin C doesn’t reduce the health risks associated with sugary drinks. Eating fruits and vegetables is a better way to get vitamin C since these foods also contain other nutrients and fiber.
This is just a sampling of information on sugary drink product labels that is used to get consumers’ attention. We will be writing more about product labels in the future. This issue of the Healthy Drinks Insider may also be helpful.
This issue was written by Justine Habibian, Ph.D., R.D.N. If you have a suggestion for a topic for the Insider, write to rethinkyourdrinknevada@unr.edu and receive a free, healthy drink recipe book.
