Sweet nothings: Sugar industry fights misleading labels

July 21, 2020

“Cattle producers who want mandatory Country of Origin Labeling aren’t the only ones who have a beef with food labels.

Sugarbeet growers have their own fight. They want the Food and Drug Administration to level the playing field among sweeteners.

The Sugar Association — which represents sugarbeet and sugar cane growers, processors and refiners — has petitioned the FDA to require food makers to add the word “sweetener” after the chemical name of non-nutritive sweeteners on food ingredient lists.

On the surface, sugar’s complaint with food labels doesn’t sound as dramatic or controversial as cattle producers’ trouble with Country of Origin Labeling and the “Made in the USA” labels that some countries are putting on imported beef. If you’re a sugarbeet grower, though, it’s a hot topic.

Sugar has gotten beaten up in recent years by claims that too much added sugar in food and beverages is bad for you. Some foods such as ice cream, Jell-O and pudding have the words “no sugar added” splashed across the front of their packages to catch the attention of health-conscious shoppers. But in tiny print on the ingredient list on the back of the package, you’ll often find aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame potassium, neotame, sucralose and steviol glycosides listed. All are non-nutritive sweeteners.

Although FDA says non-nutritive sweeteners are safe, there are some problems with the products, according to Harvard Health, a publication of Harvard Medical School.”

Read the full article at: https://www.farmprogress.com/commentary/sweet-nothings-sugar-industry-fights-misleading-labels