Last weekend, Yuanqi Forest issued an apology statement saying that in the product labeling and publicity of milk tea products, the difference between "0 sugar" and "0 sucrose" was not explained, which was easy to cause misunderstanding. As soon as the statement came out, it quickly climbed to the top of the hot search, triggering widespread discussion among consumers.
As a brand that became popular with "sugar-free, non-carbonated drinks" as a selling point and seized the market, this "belated apology" undoubtedly surprised many people.
So, there are no similar problems in other "0 sugar" beverages on the market, can you still trust the various "0 sugar" expressions on the packaging?
The reporter moved back from two large supermarkets yesterday to 14 kinds of beverages with "0 sugar" related expressions on the label, including Yuanqi Forest, Yili, Coca-Cola, Yiquan, Itoyuan, Nongfu Spring, Linlong Tea Room, Vitaso, Suntory, etc., to see the relevant combing results.
[Combing 1]
How to promote "0 sugar" and "no sugar"?
14 drinks: 3 "0 sugar" and "sugar-free"; 3 "0 sugar"; 6 "sugar-free"; 1 "sugar-free with real juice"; 1 "0 sucrose"
This time, the reporter looked for a total of fourteen kinds of beverages marked "0 sugar" and "sugar-free" on the packaging, including sparkling water, tea, soda, coffee, juice-flavored drinks, etc.
Among them, there are both drinks that use "0 sugar" as the main selling point, such as products of Yuanqi Forest; there are also some drinks that are simply labeled as sugar-free, which are only distinguished from the same series of low-sugar and other flavors, such as Suntory Oolong Tea Drink Sugar-free.
In terms of "dissociation" with sugar, how exactly are the logos of these drinks expressed?
According to statistics, there are 3 drinks with the words "0 sugar" and "no sugar" at the same time, 3 drinks have the word "0 sugar" alone, and 6 drinks have the word "sugar-free" alone.
More special are Yiquan bitter lime flavored soda and Nongfu Mountain Spring Anthrax-free cane-free latte.
The expression on the packaging of Yiquan bitter lemon flavored soda is "sugar-free with real juice"; while the expression of Nongfu Mountain Spring Anthrax-free cane-free latte is similar to the yuanqi forest milk tea that was previously apologized, which is "0 sucrose".
[Combing 2]
Does the drink have a sweet taste?
14 drinks: 8 with sweetness and the remaining 6 without sweetness
So, how do these drinks, which are advertised as "sugar-free" and "0 sugar", taste? Is it sweet?
According to statistics, 8 of the 14 drinks have a sweet taste, while the remaining 6 have no sweetness.
The types of beverages with sweetness include juice flavored sparkling water, juice flavored beverages, juice flavored tea drinks, and sodas; beverages without sweetness include coffee, flower tea, and oolong tea drinks.
"0 sugar" and "sugar-free" drinks, but the taste is sweet, so where does the sweetness come from?
Let's take a look at the ingredient list.
[Combing 3]
Where does the sweetness in the drink come from?
14 drinks: 8 with a sweetener, all containing sweeteners
In 8 types of drinks with a sweet taste, the presence of "sweeteners" can be seen in the ingredient list.
For example, the three drinks of Yuanqi Forest and the peach-flavored drinks of Yiran Milk Mine light drink contain "erythritol". The relevant person in charge of Yuanqi Forest has explained the selection of "erythritol" as a sugar substitute: erythritol is a natural sweet substance produced by yeast fermentation of corn starch raw materials, and does not participate in human blood sugar metabolism after entering the human body, and does not produce heat.
The reporter noted that these three drinks are not only flavored with erythritol.
For example, the ingredient list of Yuanqi Forest White Peach FlavorEd Soda Sparkling Water also has sucralose, commonly known as sucralose, which is a high-power sweetener, according to the information, this is one of the most ideal sweeteners at present, with no energy, high sweetness, pure sweetness, high safety characteristics.
In addition to erythritol and sucralose, there are two kinds of concentrated juices: wumei concentrated juice and hawthorn clear juice concentrate.
Yuanqi Forest Burning Tea Peach Aroma Oolong Tea Drink In addition to erythritol, there are concentrated peach juice and polydextrice. Polydextrose is a product of glucose, potassium sorbate and citric acid polymerized in a high-temperature melting state, which belongs to polysaccharides and is 0.1 times sweeter than sucrose; it is also a low-calorie substance, non-carious, and difficult to digest and absorb by the human body.
In The two drinks of Coca-Cola, "Coca-Cola Fiber +" and "Sprite Fiber +", there is the figure of "aspartame". Aspartame is an important sweetener and is widely used in pharmaceutical processing and food processing. Sucralose and acesulfame potassium are also high-frequency words in the ingredient lists of many of these beverages as sweeteners.
That is to say, these 8 sweetened drinks, the ingredient list contains "sweeteners", some of these sweeteners are less sugar, sugar substitutes in the field of "upstart", with low calories and other characteristics, some are widely used in the industry ordinary sweeteners.
According to the "Compilation of Food Safety Risk Analysis > <" (2014-2018) compiled and issued by the State Administration of Market Regulation and the Chinese Society of Food Science and Technology, it is safe to use sweeteners reasonably in accordance with the standards.
[Combing 4]
Is the nutrition facts list sugary?
14 drinks: 13 models are labeled with a sugar content of 0 grams in the nutrition facts list and 1 is not labeled
Despite containing a wide variety of sweeteners and juice concentrates, 13 of these 14 drinks are clearly indicated in the nutrition facts list: the sugar content is 0 grams.
However, this may not mean that the sugar content of the drink is "absolutely zero". Because according to GB 28050-2011 "General Principles of Food Safety National Standards for Prepackaged Food Nutrition Labels", "sugar-free or sugar-free" products only need to maintain the sugar content within a limit.
That is to say, as long as the sugar content of a bottle of beverage is as low as a certain level and meets national standards, it can be labeled as "sugar-free or sugar-free".
Among the 14 drinks, one of the drinks attracted the attention of reporters, that is, Nongfu Spring Anthrax Sucrose Latte, which is the only one that does not have a sugar content in the nutrition facts list.
In contrast, the nutritional composition table of another Nongfu ShanQuan Anthrax sugar-free black coffee in the same series is clearly marked with a sugar content of 0 grams.
The Nongfu Mountain Spring Anthrax-free cane-free latte is also the only one of the 14 drinks that is expressed as "0 sucrose" as the Yuanqi Forest Milk Tea that was previously on the hot search.
Yuanqi Forest once said in an apology statement, "Milk tea has milk so it has sugar." Even without added sugar, milk naturally carries lactose. In the ingredient list of this Nongfu Spring Anthrax-free sucrose latte, there is "full-fat concentrated milk", in addition to sucrose fatty acid fats. Although sucrose fatty acid lipids are a lipid, they can be broken down into monosaccharides in the body.
Of the 14 drinks, this one is a bit special because it tastes non-sweet, but it doesn't dare to claim "0 sugar" or "sugar free" like other drinks.
Expert interpretation
Labeled "sugar-free" beverages, not necessarily "absolutely sugar-free"
After reading the combing results, perhaps everyone still has some doubts: "Sweetener" counts as sugar? Are these "0 sugar" and "sugar-free" drinks sugary? Can you drink without worry?
The reporter interviewed Gu Zhenhua, president of the Shanghai Federation of Food Safety Work. Gu Zhenhua introduced that the "sugar-free" on the product label and the "sugar-free" on the nutritional concept are two different things. The former refers to one of the core nutrients that prepackaged foods must be mandatorily labeled according to GB 28050-2011 "General Principles for Nutrition Labeling of Prepackaged Food Safety National Standards", namely carbohydrates, including monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides. The latter refers to the carbohydrates that nutrition believes that people can absorb and utilize, which can produce energy, such as: monosaccharides, disaccharides, polysaccharides, and carbohydrates that people cannot digest and do not produce energy, such as: fiber.
From the sweetener point of view, sweetener is divided into sugar and sugar-free two, specific whether a sweetener contains sugar, according to its chemical formula to determine, if it is ingested in vivo hydrolyzate has a monosaccharide or disaccharide, it belongs to sugar.
"People generally refer to sugar as a monosaccharide or disaccharide. Whether a food contains sugar in nutrition depends on whether there are monosaccharides or disaccharides in the hydrolyzed product after it enters the human body. Although some foods do not contain sugar, their carbohydrates will also raise blood sugar after entering the human body, so diabetics also need to be careful. ”
In the process of food production, some enterprises say that the product is "sugar-free" because it does not directly add sucrose and glucose in the production process, which may be misleading. Because the raw materials used contain "sugar", for example, some drinks use concentrated fruit juice as raw materials, as long as the "sugar" in the raw juice is not specifically removed in the production process, the "fructose" in the raw material is "brought" into the finished product, and the finished product is sugary.
Gu Zhenhua said that beverages marked as "sugar-free" on the label are not necessarily "absolutely sugar-free". The national standard stipulates that the sugar content ≤ 0.5g/100g (solid) or 100mL (liquid) can be marked as "sugar-free" on the label. Therefore, beverages marked as "sugar-free" on the label do not mean that they can be drunk in large quantities without restriction, but it depends on the hydrolysis after entering the human body. Diabetics among consumers need special attention.
Source: Morning News