"Light", “sugar free", "lite"... Confused by the huge variety of phrases used to describe low-sugar products? These terms are governed by strict and precise regulations, down to the smallest detail. Figures, dates... We review the regulatory framework governing low-sugar products.
Low-sugar: a strictly defined claim
The term “low in” (fat, sugar, calories, etc.) describes the nutritional composition of food products which now falls under the European regulation 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods, in force since July 2007.
Each claim is defined with precise and quantifiable values. The annex to the regulation features the claims “energy-reduced”, “with no added sugar”, “light/lite” and “high fibre”.
The regulation does not required “low” or “reduced” to apply to each element of a product. It allows manufacturers to reduce sugar, fat or calorie content, on condition that this content is at least 30% less than a similar product.
Low sugar does not (necessarily) mean the product in low in sugars...
The terminological differences are sometimes extremely subtle. The term “Low in” is synonymous with “reduced” or “light” and a low-sugar product must contain at least 30% less sugar than a similar product.
The claim “sugar free” may only be made where the product contains no more than 0.5 g of sugar per 100 g, which does not mean that it is low-sugar or that it is calorie-free.
A little more complicated, the claim “low sugar” may only be made where the product contains no more than 5g of sugar per 100 g for solids or 2.5 g of sugar per 100 ml for liquids.
Lastly, the regulation requires that the claim “with no added sugars” may only be made where the product does not contain any added mono- or disaccharides or any other food used for its sweetening properties”. In short, this claim is only possible if the food is produced without the addition of sucrose, fructose, glucose syrup, honey or concentrated fruit juice. Which does not mean that the product does not contain naturally-occurring sugars!