Total Sugar Criteria Plus Commitments for Tighter Criteria Announced

December 14th, 2016

Today, Choices International issued criteria for total sugar. These criteria come next to the existing criteria for added sugar, and can be used in countries where no added sugar data are available.

The Choices criteria for product groups give maximum levels for sodium, saturated fat, trans fatty acids, energy and added sugar, as well as minimum levels for dietary fiber. While working in more and more countries, the Choices International Scientific Committee concluded that the use of the Choices criteria is often limited because data on added sugar are not available. In contrast, data on total sugar are much more widely available. To address this need, the International Scientific Committee derived total sugar levels by calculating the added sugar criteria plus total levels of naturally-occurring sugar in all relevant product group.

The added sugar criteria remain the norm; only in cases that added sugar data are not available, can the total sugar criteria be used.

Going a Step Further

While discussing the sugar criteria, the Committee concluded that a further decrease of sugar levels in several product groups is needed to keep pace with current developments and demands, and to maintain its leading role within the nutrient profiling dialogue. Because the previous criteria revision took place recently, the Committee decided to present these new criteria as commitments for the next criteria revision that will take place in 2018. These future sugar criteria (both on added and on total sugar) are added to the 2015 international criteria in separate tables and will go into effect with the next criteria revision.

Click here for the updated criteria set (PDF).

More information: rutger.schilpzand@choicesprogramme.org