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/
March 22, 2026
"The Feeding the Economy report affirms the vital role food and agriculture play in our nation’s economic resilience and food security. Commercial bakers have long been proud partners to American agriculture, sourcing 85 percent of their core ingredients from domestic farmers....Sponsoring organizations from the food and agriculture industries, who helped make the 2026 study possible, provided commentary on this year’s findings. The full list of sponsoring organizations includes: ...The Sugar Association"
March 10, 2026
"Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Association, a scientific body that supports the U.S. sugar industry, told the USDA Outlook Forum that the school meal standards taking effect next year might prohibit added sugars in kindergarten meals and could significantly restrict them in other grades. That change alone would cut sugar demand by over 130,000 short tons. The industry faces additional pressure from rising GLP-1 weight-loss drug usage, which jumped from 12% in May 2024 to 18% in November 2025, though Gaine cautioned it remains "premature to assess the impact."
March 3, 2026
"Gaine added, "There is no data to support all this." She said the focus on added sugar is often politically motivated, but food groups have not pushed back on the MAHA pressure. There is a lot of fear of retaliation, and for good reason they have not wanted to push back publicly," Gaine said. "I think it’s going to demand a coordinated, really coordinated, pushing back. Any effort up (until) now has been to go along to get along, and I don’t know if that’s going to work."
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