Criteria for the nutrient content claim no added sugars

Background

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Health Canada would like to clarify the requirements for the nutrient content claim no added sugars, as specified in item 40 in the Table of Permitted Nutrient Content Statements and Claims incorporated by reference in the Food and Drugs Regulations (FDR). Permitted wording for this claim are: "no sugar added", "no added sugar" and "without added sugar".

The FDR apply to all foods sold in Canada, as well as to food advertising. The regulations contain specific compositional and labelling criteria for a restricted list of permitted nutrient content claims, including the no added sugars claim.

The compositional criteria a food must meet in order to carry the no added sugars claim are:

1. the food contains no added sugars-based ingredients or ingredients containing sugars-based^Footnote 1 ingredients
2. the sugars content is not increased through some other means except if the functional effect is not to increase the sugars content of the food, and
3. the similar reference food
   1. contains an added sugars-based ingredient or an ingredient containing a sugars-based ingredient, and
   2. does not meet the conditions for the claim low in sugars; in other words, the food contains:
      1. more than 5 g of sugars per reference amount and serving of stated size and, if the reference amount is 30 g or 30 mL or less, per 50 g, or
      2. more than 5 g of sugars per 100 g if the food is a prepackaged meal

The no added sugars claim is intended to be used on foods which do not contain added sugars-based^Footnote 1 ingredients or ingredients containing them.

In cases where the replacement of sugars with functional substitutes for sugars results in products containing similar or higher sugars content than the comparable product with added sugars, the no added sugars claim will not apply. For example, fruit juice and fruit spread products that are sweetened with concentrated apple, grape or pear juice instead of sugars, or a muffin that omits white sugar but contains concentrated apple juice, do not meet the compositional criteria for the no added sugars claim. The use of the no added sugars claim on these types of products is potentially misleading. Note that other functions of sugars, for example, thickening or bulking, do not occur in isolation of the sweetening effects and still result in sugar added for its functional properties.

Unsweetened claim

The claim "unsweetened" may be used on a food provided the food meets the conditions for the claim no added sugars, as described above, and does not contain a sweetener, such as aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame-potassium or permitted sugar alcohols, set out in the List of permitted sweeteners [B.01.509(1), FDR].

The claim "unsweetened" is not permitted on the principal display panel (PDP) of a prepackaged product if the product carries a nutrition symbol indicating that it is "high in sugars" [B.01.509(2), FDR].

Foods with fruit ingredients

For some fruit-based products (like fruit spread for example), the functional effect of fruit juice or concentrated fruit juice may be as a fruit ingredient as opposed to a sweetening ingredient. For these foods, the no added sugar claim may be made on the following conditions:

Fruit spreads

1. there is a permitted sweetener present as prescribed in the List of permitted sweeteners (for example, aspartame, sucralose, maltitol)
2. the fruit juice or fruit juice concentrate is identified in the product's common name (for example, strawberry and concentrated apple juice spread), and
3. the similar reference food contains added sugars-based ingredients or ingredients containing them.

Note that the above conditions were established with respect to spreads that also all contained significantly lower sugar content than that of the similar reference food and that further evaluation would be required on products for which this is not the case.

Juice or blends of juices

1. if fruit juice concentrate is the ingredient, water is present as an ingredient in an amount sufficient to reconstitute the concentrate to a single strength juice
2. the fruit juice or fruit juice concentrate is identified in the product common name (for example, mango nectar with apple juice)
3. decharacterized juice is not present, as it is considered a sugars-based ingredient that is a functional substitute for sugar as opposed to a fruit juice ingredient, and
4. the similar reference food contains added sugars-based ingredients or ingredients containing them.

Conditions 1) and 2) above for both spreads and juices help to substantiate that the function of the fruit juice or concentrated fruit juice is as a fruit ingredient as opposed to a sweetening ingredient.

Fruit cocktail or other canned fruit in fruit juice

The no added sugars claim is not permitted because the fruit juice functionally substitutes for the added sugar (in the syrup). The claim is not permitted when either juice concentrate or fruit juice is present, including fruits packed in their own juice. Total sugar content of products packed in fruit juice are comparable to those packed in light syrup. As the standard of identity allows these products to be in syrup (water, sugar), in fruit juice or in water, only the fruit packed in water qualifies for the no added sugars claim [Processed fruit products in hermetically sealed packages, Canadian Standards of Identity, Volume 4 – Processed Fruit or Vegetable Products]. Methods of indicating to consumers that fruit juice is the packing medium continue to be mandatory, such as "Packaged in (naming the Fruit) Juice" or "Packaged in Mixed Fruit Juice" [273, SFCR].

The CFIA will continue to evaluate other food products for which similar clarification may be required, in consultation with Health Canada.

Compliance with Canadian regulations

It is the responsibility of all manufacturers and importers to comply with Canadian regulations. For more information, refer to the Industry Labelling Tool.