Dear Susanne:

 

The USDA’s Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL) recently removed the USDA Database for the Added Sugars Content of Selected Foods from the NDL website due to constant changes in formulations for commercial, multi-ingredient foods, the primary contributor of added sugars to the diet. Though a reevaluation of these foods, their ingredients and ingredient proportions is integral to our ongoing monitoring program, we are not recalculating added and intrinsic sugars at this point in time. This is, in part, because brand name market shares and ingredients are changed so rapidly that these estimates are more a temporary cross-section in time than fixed values. No method can analyze for added sugars so their amounts must be extrapolated or supplied by food companies, many of which are not willing to make public such proprietary information.

 

For these reasons the Added Sugars Table, previously available on this web site, has been withdrawn.

 

Best regards,

 

Pamela R. Pehrsson, Ph.D.

Acting Research Leader

USDA, Agricultural Research Service

Nutrient Data Laboratory

Room 208A, Building 005, BARC-West

10300 Baltimore Avenue

Beltsville, MD 20705

301.504.0635 (voice)

301.504.0632 (fax)

[log in to unmask]

 

 

 

From: Food Composition Discussion Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Anders Møller
Sent: Friday, February 15, 2013 5:17 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: added sugar in foods

 

Dear Susanne,

 

Also the Icelandic food composition database, http://www.matis.is/ISGEM/en/ has information on added sugar.

 

The "added sugar" component (in the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations called "refined sugars", see http://www.norden.org/da/publikationer/publikationer/2004-013/) has been used in the Nordic Countries for several decades. In our databanks it is treated like a component, but in reality, it is actually the amount of an ingredient in a food.

The Nordic recommendations say “Carbohydrates should provide 50–60% of the total energy intake (E%). The population goal is 55 E% from carbohydrates, which should be used for planning purposes. For adults, the intake of dietary fibre should be 25–35 g/d, i.e. approximately 3 g/MJ. Refined sugars should not exceed 10 E%.

 

I agree with Shawn that it has not easy to obtain the added sugar values, and the values you find are most often “qualified guesses” based on a good insight in the food technological processes, food regulations, typical recipe information, and labelling information.

 

In Europe with the extended food labelling (see http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/labellingnutrition/foodlabelling/index_en.htm) including the Quantitative Ingredients Declaration (QUID labelling) and the nutrition labelling rules (see http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/labellingnutrition/nutritionlabel/index_en.htm) with declaration of carbohydrates and (of which) sugars, we are actually getting into a position, where the amount of added sugars is shown or can be calculated from the ingredient lists and nutrition labelling in many cases, eventually with the help of a technique called linear programming (a system of linear equations).

 

The European labelling regulations have helped us a lot in establishing the amounts of the food ingredients. Some super market chains are actually labelling the amounts of important ingredients in the ingredient lists although it may not be a regulatory demand.  

 

Also, for many food products there are some basic physiological rules concerning the amount of sugar, you can use, while still maintaining the “good” sugar taste, and its combination with other ingredients, e.g. acids and salt. Similarly, there are foods where the sugar content can only be “added sugar”, e.g. marinated herring and soft drinks (except in those soft drinks that contain natural juices ;-). There are quite a few rules that can be established like these.

 

All the best,

Anders

 

Anders Møller

Danish Food Information

Borgediget 12

DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark

 

Websites:  Danish Food Information (http://www.danfood.info)

                      SciName Finder (http://www.sciname.info)

                      LanguaL(http://www.langual.org)

 

 

From: Food Composition Discussion Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Susanne Westenbrink
Sent: 14 February 2013 13:33
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: added sugar in foods

 

Dear all,
I am looking for food composition databases/tables that contain information on added sugar in food. Does any of you know about such data? I am already aware of the 'USDA database for the added sugar content of selected foods'. Also information on the problems and restrictions of such data are welcome.
It would be great if someone can help me.
Thanks,
Best regards,
Susanne


Susanne Westenbrink
Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM) / National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
Centrum voor Voeding en Gezondheid / Centre for Nutrition and Health
PO Box 1
3720 BA Bilthoven
The Netherlands
tel:  +31 (0) 30 274 2448
fax: +31 (0) 30 274 4466
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
for more information on  the Dutch food composition database see
http://www.rivm.nl/nevo
http://nevo-online.rivm.nl




Proclaimer RIVM http://www.rivm.nl/Proclaimer


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