Sugar is now squarely top of mind for consumers. According to the 2019 International Food Information Council (IFIC) “Food & Health” survey, limiting sugar intake is one of the top ways in which consumer diets have changed over the past several years, and 80 percent of consumers are trying to limit and/or avoid added sugars. Consumers are much more cognizant of sugar and added sugar, and the U.S. globally ranks as having the highest average daily sugar consumption. According to IFIC, the current average sugar consumption in the U.S. is 25.28 teaspoons per day, which is 11.98 teaspoons more than the U.S. government recommends. IFIC also states that 90 percent of people in the U.S. exceed the Dietary Guidelines recommendation to limit calories from added sugar to no more than 10 percent of calories per day.
The FDA has issued new guidelines for Nutrition Facts labelling. This includes making calorie declarations more prominent and adding the amount and daily value percentage for “added sugars” on the label so this information is more transparent, ostensibly enabling consumers to make better, more-informed choices. This new labelling mandate to include added sugars took effect on January 1, 2020.