Fruit drink labeling is confusing to many parents, study finds

April 8, 2021

“Most parents of young children cannot identify key ingredients in children’s drinks after reviewing the packaging, Nutrition Facts and the ingredients list, according to research emailed to Food Dive from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut and the School of Global Public Health at New York University. This includes the presence of added sugars, no- and low-calorie sweeteners and the percentage of juice. In the research, nearly seven in 10 parents were confident or very confident they could identify added sugars. When looking at only the front of packages, 84% were able to correctly identify these products. According to the Rudd Center research, less than half of parents felt they could identify diet sweeteners. This category includes sucralose and acesulfame K — names that could be foreign to many consumers who are reading an ingredient list.

According to 2020 research from the Sugar Association, 63% of consumers were unable to identify sugar substitutes as the sweetening ingredient in foods. And two-thirds felt that food companies should be required to clearly identify sugar substitutes as “sweeteners” in ingredient lists.”

Read the full article at: https://www.fooddive.com/news/fruit-drink-labeling-is-confusing-to-many-parents-study-finds/598016/