NATIONAL REAL SUGAR DAY | October 15

The Sugar Association is stepping up pressure on FDA to respond to its 2020 petition requesting more transparent labeling for sweeteners in

“Sugar is a versatile and irreplaceable functional ingredient in food,” says Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Assn. “It’s the gold standard for taste and is a familiar ingredient that has been used for generations—often for reasons that have little to do with its sweet flavor. These functional properties range from balancing acidity, browning or adding bulk to preventing spoilage through its moisture retention properties.”

The Sugar Association, for instance, warned the committee that a blanket focus on reducing added sugar is unlikely to help address the issue of obesity in the US. While added sugar intake in the US has been declining, obesity rates have continued to climb, the group noted. “Evidence shows that a singular focus on added sugars in the US has not decreased obesity,” Campbell Genn, the Sugar Association’s director of nutrition policy, told the committee[…]