Nutrition Labelling and Claims

Health Canada has made several changes to the Nutrition Facts table and List of Ingredients, which are now mandatory on packaged food labels (1). These changes provide additional information on sugars to help Canadians compare sugars content of products more easily and make informed choices for healthy eating:

The Nutrition Facts table. This lists the amount of total carbohydrate, including total sugars in a stated serving size. A % Daily Value for total sugars has been added to the Nutrition Facts table.
The List of Ingredients. The ingredients list identifies all types of sugars and sweetening ingredients in the food or beverage in descending order of quantity. All sugars-based ingredients are now grouped together in brackets in the List of Ingredients.
Sugars-related Nutrient Content Claims. There are six nutrient content claims related to sugars permitted in Canada, including one new claim.

Carbohydrates and Sugars in the Nutrition Facts table

The Nutrition Facts Table lists the amount of total carbohydrate, including total sugars, starches, and fibre in a stated serving size (2, 3).

“Sugars” refers to total sugars, and includes both naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables, and milk products, as well as sugars that are added to foods (e.g. sugar, brown sugar, glucose-fructose, honey, maple syrup, concentrated fruit juice).
Whether a mono- or disaccharide is naturally-occurring or added to foods, the chemical composition is identical and is broken down the same way. For example, sugar (sucrose) from sugar cane or sugar beet has the same chemical make-up as the sucrose found in all fruits and vegetables and is used as a source of energy by the body in the same way.

Among the changes to the Nutrition Facts table,

The % Daily Value (DV) for Carbohydrate has been removed;
A DV for Sugars has been introduced at 100 g of total sugars, which is equivalent to 20% of a 2,000-calorie diet and is close to the average level of consumption of total sugars in Canada;
- According to Health Canada, “this value is not a recommended level of intake. Instead it is the amount of total sugars that is consistent with a healthy eating pattern”.
The DV for fibre increased from 25 g to 28 g (1).

The % Daily Value for total sugars has been included to help consumers:

Compare the sugars content per serving of different foods, and
Understand the relative amount of sugars in the context of total daily consumption.

Comparison of key nutrient changes between previous and new Nutrition Facts tables

For more on what 100 g of total sugars can look like as part of a day’s worth of eating, view our resource “The Sweet Spot Challenge: A Compilation of Daily Menus Based on the 100 gram Daily Value for Sugars”.

Sugars in the Ingredient List

All pre-packaged foods require a List of Ingredients (2, 3). Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, therefore the ingredient that weighs the most is listed first and the lowest weight ingredient listed last.

To make it easier for consumers to identify all the sources of sugars added to a food or beverage, the new labelling regulations require that all added sugars ingredients be grouped together in brackets following the term “Sugars” (1). Functional substitutes that act as sweetening agents such as fruit juice concentrate and maltodextrin are also grouped under "Sugars". The placement of Sugars within the ingredient list will depend on the total weight of all the sugars ingredients combined.

Comparison of changes from old to current List of Ingredients, including grouping of sugars ingredients

DID YOU KNOW?

Unlike in the Nutrition Facts table, the term “Sugars” in the ingredient list includes only sugars-based ingredients (all added sugars and functional substitutes such as fruit juice concentrate and maltodextrin), but not sugars naturally occurring in fruits, vegetables, and dairy sources.

Some of the common types of sugars you may find in the ingredient listing include:

Sources	Sugar cane/beet sources	Corn sources	Other sources

Types	Sugar Brown sugar, golden sugar Icing sugar Invert sugar Golden syrup Turbinado sugar, demerara sugar Molasses, fancy molasses	Glucose/fructose (high fructose corn syrup) Corn syrup Corn syrup solids Dextrose Glucose High maltose corn syrup	Agave syrup Coconut sugar Date sugar Fruit juice concentrate Honey Maple syrup Rice syrup Maltodextrin (without fibre)

Sources

Sugar cane/beet sources

Corn sources

Other sources

Types

Sugar

Brown sugar, golden sugar

Icing sugar

Invert sugar

Golden syrup

Turbinado sugar, demerara sugar

Molasses, fancy molasses

Glucose/fructose (high fructose corn syrup)

Corn syrup

Corn syrup solids

Dextrose

Glucose

High maltose corn syrup

Agave syrup

Coconut sugar

Date sugar

Fruit juice concentrate

Honey

Maple syrup

Rice syrup

Maltodextrin (without fibre)

*Sugars ingredients do not include high-intensity sweeteners, sugar alcohols, or dextrins.

Below are a few examples of how the grouping of sugars may give consumers better information about the sugars-based ingredients, by weight, in different food products.

Food Product Example and Ingredient List	Comments
Bran cereal with raisins Ingredients: Whole grain wheat • Raisins • Sugars (Sugar, malted corn and barley syrup) • Salt • Sunflower oil • Calcium • IronHuile	There are two different sugars-based ingredients used, including sugar and malted corn and barley syrup. Sugars is the third ingredient listed, meaning that the total weight of all sugars ingredients is the third in descending order by weight.
Fruit-berry salad dressing Ingredients: Water • Sugars (concentrated white grape juice, strawberry puree, concentrated raspberry juice, concentrated blackberry juice) • White wine vinegar • Canola oil • Dijon mustard (water, mustard seeds, vinegar, salt, turmeric) • Salt • Concentrated lemon juice • Poppy seeds • Spices • Xanthan gum	Some ingredients, such as fruit juice concentrate, fruit paste or fruit puree, are not necessarily an obvious “sugars-based ingredient”, so the grouping may help consumers identify these sources of added sugars in their foods.
Seasoning mix Ingredients: Sugars (maltodextrin) • Spices • Salt • Corn starch • Natural flavour	Other functional substitutes for added sugars, such as maltodextrin, when used to replace sugars must also be grouped to help consumers understand that these are sugars-based ingredients.

Food Product Example and Ingredient List

Comments

Cereal box

Bran cereal with raisins

Ingredients: Whole grain wheat • Raisins • Sugars (Sugar, malted corn and barley syrup) • Salt • Sunflower oil • Calcium • IronHuile

There are two different sugars-based ingredients used, including sugar and malted corn and barley syrup.
Sugars is the third ingredient listed, meaning that the total weight of all sugars ingredients is the third in descending order by weight.

Salad dressing bottle Fruit-berry salad dressing

Ingredients: Water • Sugars (concentrated white grape juice, strawberry puree, concentrated raspberry juice, concentrated blackberry juice) • White wine vinegar • Canola oil • Dijon mustard (water, mustard seeds, vinegar, salt, turmeric) • Salt • Concentrated lemon juice • Poppy seeds • Spices • Xanthan gum

Some ingredients, such as fruit juice concentrate, fruit paste or fruit puree, are not necessarily an obvious “sugars-based ingredient”, so the grouping may help consumers identify these sources of added sugars in their foods.

Seasoning mix
Ingredients: Sugars (maltodextrin) • Spices • Salt • Corn starch • Natural flavour

Other functional substitutes for added sugars, such as maltodextrin, when used to replace sugars must also be grouped to help consumers understand that these are sugars-based ingredients.

Sugars-Related Nutrient Content Claims

Nutrient content claims are statements that highlight or describe the amount of a nutrient in a food (2, 3). There are six nutrient content claims related to sugars permitted in Canada, including one new claim:

Sugars – Related Claims	Regulations
"sugar-free", "free of sugar" "no sugar", "0 sugar", "zero sugar", "without sugar", "contains no sugar", "sugarless", "0 sugar", "zero g sugar","0 gram sugar", zero gram sugar"	Contains less than 0.5 g sugars per reference amount and serving of stated size, and Meets the conditions for the claim "low in energy".
*NEW* "low in sugars", "low in sugar", "low sugar", "low source of sugar", "little sugar", "contains only (number) g of sugar per serving", "contains less than (number) g of sugar per serving"	Contains 5 g or less of sugars per reference amount and serving of stated size (i.e. meets the criteria of no more than 5% DV for sugars).
"reduced in sugar", "reduced sugar", "sugar-reduced", "less sugar", "lower sugar", "lower in sugar"	The food is processed, reformulated, or modified so that compared to a similar reference food**, it contains at least 25% less sugars, totaling at least 5 g less sugars per reference amount.
"lower in sugar", "less sugar", "lower sugar"	Compared to a reference food of the same food group, contains at least 25% less sugars, totaling at least 5 g less sugars per reference amount.
"no added sugar", "no sugar added", "without added sugar"	Contains no added sugars-based ingredients or ingredients containing added sugars-based ingredients, and contains less than 15% DV for sugars per reference amount and serving of stated size, and The similar reference food contains added sugars-based ingredients or ingredients containing sugars-based ingredients, and does not meet the conditions for the claim "low in sugars".
"unsweetened"	Meets requirements for "no added sugar" and contains no sweeteners (i.e. food additives such as aspartame, sucralose, sorbitol, etc).

*Note: Only the terms and wording outlined above from the Food and Drug Regulations can be used to make a claim.

** “Similar reference food” means a food of the same type as the food to which is it compared and that has not been processed, formulated, reformulated, or otherwise modified in a manner that increases or decreases either the energy value, or the amount of a nutrient that is the subject of the comparison.

Note: For foods that display a “high in sugars” front-of-package symbol,

“Free of sugars”, “Low in sugars”, “Lower in sugars”, “No added sugars”, and “Unsweetened” claims are prohibited to avoid consumer confusion.
The claim “Reduced in sugars” is permitted to allow companies to highlight reformulation efforts.

Are "reduced in sugar" or "no sugar added" products a better choice?

Because sugar plays a variety of roles in food products - from sweetness to adding bulk, colour, mouthfeel, and texture - other ingredients, such as starch and fat, are often used to replace these functions (4,5). According to a recent publication by researchers from the University of Toronto, "products reformulated to be lower in sugar are not consistently lower in energies, due to an increase in starch". In addition, the reformulated product may have a longer list of ingredients, may need additional warning statements on the label (e.g. aspartame), and may cost more.

For example:

Comparison of regular to no sugar added chocolate chip cookie

Comparing a regular pre-packaged chocolate chip cookie to a “no sugar added” version:

• Calories per cookie are exactly the same.

• Carbohydrates are actually higher in the “no sugar added” cookie.

• Sugar was replaced with maltitol, a sugar alcohol, and acesulfame potassium, a non-caloric artificial sweetener.

Nutrition information for original vs no sugar added mueslis

Comparing a regular muesli cereal to the company’s “no sugar added” version:
•   Calories per ½ cup serving are exactly the same.
•   Carbohydrates and fibre content are similar between the two versions.
•   Sugars was reduced by two grams in the “No Sugar Added” version. The remaining 5 g sugars in the reformulated version are coming from raisins.

The ingredient list and Nutrition Facts table for these and other reformulated products, will identify any changes in composition and nutritional value. This allows consumers to compare these products for carbohydrate and calorie information.

For more information on sugars labelling, additional resources include: