Why "No Added Sugar" Doesn't Mean Sugar-Free
Sugar is one of the most closely watched numbers on a food label, especially if you are managing diabetes or simply trying to keep your intake in check. The catch is that sugar rarely appears on an ingredients list as the plain word "sugar." It is split, renamed, and blended into syrups, so a product can be loaded with it while looking innocent. Learning to spot the disguises turns label-reading from guesswork into a quick, reliable habit.
This is about awareness, not fear. Sugar is not poison, and small amounts fit comfortably into most balanced diets. But knowing how much is really there — and where it hides — helps you make an informed choice rather than an accidental one.
The Two Words That Mislead
The front-of-pack claim "no added sugar" is technically honest and genuinely useful, but it is often misread. It means no sugars or sweetening foods were added during production. It does not mean the product is low in sugar, because naturally occurring sugars still count.
A smoothie sweetened only with concentrated fruit juice can carry as much sugar as a soft drink, yet still claim "no added sugar" because juice is treated as a fruit ingredient rather than added sugar. Dried-fruit bars, "100% fruit" snacks and unsweetened juices all work the same way. The claim tells you about the recipe, not the dose — so always turn the pack over.
The Many Names Sugar Hides Under
Manufacturers use dozens of sweetening ingredients. Because the ingredients list is ordered by weight, splitting sugar across several names can push each one further down the list, making a sweet product look less sugary than it is. A few clues help: anything ending in "-ose" (glucose, fructose, maltose, dextrose, sucrose, lactose) is a sugar, and most syrups and fruit-juice concentrates are too.
| Sugar alias | What it is |
|---|---|
| Sucrose | Ordinary table sugar (glucose + fructose) |
| Glucose / dextrose | A simple sugar; dextrose is just glucose |
| Fructose | Fruit sugar; also sold as a crystalline sweetener |
| Maltose | Malt sugar, from broken-down starch |
| Lactose | Milk sugar, found in dairy ingredients |
| Glucose-fructose syrup (HFCS) | Liquid corn-based sweetener, very common in drinks |
| Invert sugar syrup | Split sucrose; sweeter and stays soft |
| Corn syrup | Glucose syrup made from maize |
| Molasses | Thick syrup left from sugar refining |
| Concentrated fruit juice | Fruit sugar boiled down; a sweetener in disguise |
| Maltodextrin | Starch-derived; digests quickly like sugar |
| Honey | Mostly glucose and fructose |
| Agave syrup / nectar | Plant syrup, high in fructose |
| Barley malt extract | Malted-grain syrup, mainly maltose |
| Rice / coconut / cane sugar | Different sources, still sugar |
Seeing several of these in one list is a strong signal that sugar is a major ingredient, even if "sugar" never appears on its own.
Where Hidden Sugar Lurks
Sweet products are obvious. The surprises are the savoury and "healthy" ones:
- Bread and rolls — often contain added sugar or syrup for colour and softness
- Sauces and dressings — ketchup, pasta sauce, BBQ, sweet chilli and many salad dressings are surprisingly sugary
- "Low-fat" and "diet" products — when fat is removed, sugar is often added to restore flavour and texture
- Breakfast cereals and granola — even wholegrain and "natural" versions can be high
- Flavoured yoghurts — a single pot can hold several teaspoons; plain yoghurt plus fruit is far lower
- Drinks — soft drinks, energy drinks, flavoured waters, smoothies and juices are the biggest liquid sources
How to Read the Nutrition Panel
In the EU, the mandatory nutrition table lists "Carbohydrate, of which sugars" per 100 g (or 100 ml). This figure covers total sugars — both natural and added together. Unlike the US, EU labels do not carry a separate "added sugars" line, so to judge added sugar you combine the total-sugars number with a scan of the ingredients list for the aliases above.
Two habits make the number meaningful:
- Compare per 100 g, not per serving. Manufacturers set their own serving sizes, which can be optimistically small. The per-100 g column lets you compare products fairly. As a rough guide, more than 22.5 g of sugar per 100 g is "high" and 5 g or less is "low."
- Convert grams to teaspoons. Roughly 4 g of sugar ≈ 1 teaspoon. A 500 ml drink with 53 g of sugar is about 13 teaspoons — a mental picture that is far more vivid than a number.
If you are counting carbohydrates for diabetes, remember that sugar is only part of total carbohydrate, which is what most affects blood glucose. Your healthcare team can advise on what matters most for you.
Check the Label in Seconds
- Read the whole ingredients list, not just the front-of-pack claim.
- Count the sugar aliases — several "-ose" words, syrups or concentrates mean sugar is a main ingredient.
- Check the per-100 g sugars figure and compare similar products side by side.
- Translate it into teaspoons so the amount feels real.
- When a list is long or unfamiliar, scan it — a tool like FoodScan reads the ingredients and surfaces total and hidden sugars for you in seconds.
The Bottom Line
"No added sugar" is not the same as "no sugar," and the word "sugar" is only one of its many disguises. Learn the tell-tale endings and syrups, compare the per-100 g figure rather than the serving, and picture the teaspoons. None of this means never enjoying something sweet — it simply means you decide with your eyes open, which is exactly what good label-reading is for.
