Sugar Association files a petition with the FDA to alter sweetener labeling

The Sugar Association, representing 142,000 sugar beet and cane growers, processors, and refiners in the United States, has filed a U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Citizen Petition [pdf] asking the agency to require complete and accurate labeling of low- and no-calorie sweeteners on food packages. The Association believes this action will “extend labeling transparency, end misleading practices, and help consumers make more informed decisions.”

“Consumers deserve to know what is in their food so they can make informed decisions for themselves and their families,” said Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Association, in a press release. “These changes by the FDA will bring the complete transparency in sweetener labeling that we know consumers want, deserve, and should expect.”

The petition asks the FDA to require the following changes to food labeling by issuing official industry guidance supported by the agency’s enforcement discretion:

• Add the term “sweetener” in parentheses after the name of all non-nutritive sweeteners in the ingredient list.
• For children’s food and beverages, indicate the type and quantity of non-nutritive sweeteners, in milligrams per serving, on the front of food packages.
• For products making a sugar content claim (i.e., no/low/reduced sugar), require the disclosure, “sweetened with [name of sweetener(s)]” beneath the claim.
• Disclose the potential gastrointestinal side effects from the consumption of sugar alcohols and some sugar substitutes in foods at the lowest observed effect levels.
• Ensure all sugar content claims related to sugar and sugar substitutes are truthful and non-misleading.

The petition also asks the FDA to use its enforcement discretion to require the disclosure “not lower in calories” for the use of “no/reduced added sugar” claims on the labels of foods when the product does not have 25% fewer calories than the food product to which it is compared. According to the association, 70% of consumers believe that products labeled “reduced sugar” contain fewer calories than the original product.

“These changes are necessary to close a gap in food labeling, but most importantly, they are necessary to provide consumers with complete transparency and accurate information about the contents of the products they buy and eat,” said Gaine.