Recognizing added sugar

Identifying added sugars can be confusing. Most people look at the Nutrition Facts part of the label for the total number of grams of sugar in a serving of the product. It's important to realize, however, that the amount shown includes natural sugars found in certain ingredients, such as grain, fruit and milk. The only reliable way to identify added sugars is to look at the ingredient list.

Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. If you see sugar listed among the first few ingredients, the product is likely to be high in added sugars.

Currently the Food and Drug Administration is considering updating the Nutrition Facts label to help clarify how much sugar is added to foods.