Sugar Content and Warning Criteria Evaluation for Popular Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in Taipei, Taiwan

• Published in: Nutrients 2022-08, Vol.14 (16), p.3339
• Main Authors: Yen, Chieh, Huang, Ya-Li, Chung, Mei, Chen, Yi-Chun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Advertising restrictions; Analysis; Beverages; Beverages - adverse effects; Carbonated Beverages; Cardiovascular diseases; Coffee; Consumer behavior; Consumers; Convenience stores; Criteria; Dental Caries; Descriptive labeling; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Energy; Energy Intake; Evaluation; Food habits; Food products; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Humans; Nutrition; Obesity; Packaging; Soft drinks; Sugar; Sugar-Sweetened Beverages; Sugars; Supermarkets; Taiwan; Tea
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu14163339

Sugar intake may increase the risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and dental caries. In Taiwan, people frequently consume sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). This study explored the energy and sugar content of Taiwanese SSBs and evaluated them using the Chilean warning label system (>70 kcal/100 mL and >5 g sugar/100 mL) and the World Health Organization (WHO) sugar guideline (≤25 g sugar). A total of 341 SSBs with volumes ≤600 mL were analyzed. No significant differences were observed in sugar per serving among different types of SSBs, but a great variation in portion size (i.e., package size for individual consumption) was noted. The energy and sugar ratios per serving were lower in soft drinks and coffee and tea containing >1 serving than in those containing only one serving. The calorie and sugar ratios per portion were higher in all types of SSBs containing >1 serving per portion than in those containing exactly one serving. Approximately 70.0% of Taiwanese SSBs were classified as high sugar according to the Chilean criteria, and 41.6% of SSBs exceeded the WHO guideline. Moreover, 40.8% of SSBs that were not considered as high sugar according to the Chilean criteria contained >25 g sugar per portion. For individual consumption, it is more clear that nutrition labeling is based on portion rather than serving. Evaluating SSBs on sugar/portion rather than sugar/100 mL will help consumers make better choices.