Refined sugar aliases

Refined sugar alias: a marketing-friendly name for added sugar, required to be disclosed under FDA's sugar labeling rules.

• refined sugar aliases
• dextrose
• maltose
• glucose syrup
• fructose syrup
• invert sugar
• invert cane sugar
• evaporated cane juice
• evaporated cane syrup
• coconut sugar
• coconut palm sugar
• date sugar
• date syrup
• cane juice crystals
• dehydrated cane juice
• raw cane sugar
• turbinado sugar
• muscovado sugar
• panela
• piloncillo
• barley malt syrup
• barley malt extract
• malt syrup
• oat syrup
• sorghum syrup
• fruit juice concentrate
• juice concentrate
• concentrated juice
• apple juice concentrate
• apple juice from concentrate
• concentrated apple juice
• grape juice concentrate
• grape juice from concentrate
• concentrated grape juice
• pear juice concentrate
• pear juice from concentrate
• concentrated pear juice
• orange juice concentrate
• orange juice from concentrate
• concentrated orange juice
• white grape juice concentrate
• white grape juice from concentrate
• pineapple juice concentrate
• pineapple juice from concentrate
• mango juice concentrate
• passion fruit juice concentrate
• tomato juice concentrate
• concentrated tomato juice
• guava juice concentrate
• kiwi juice concentrate
• honey solids
• dried honey
• honey powder

No bans or restrictions are recorded for this ingredient in the jurisdictions clearlabel tracks (US, EU, UK, Canada, Japan, Australia/NZ, Brazil).

This flag collects the many names that added sugar can hide behind on an ingredient list. Some are chemical names like dextrose and maltose, some are less-processed sugars like turbinado or muscovado, and some are juice concentrates that function as sweeteners once the water and fiber are gone. Whatever the name, the job is the same: to add sweetness, and often bulk and browning, to a product.

Clear Label flags these names because they all count as added sugar even when the label makes them sound wholesome. Terms like evaporated cane juice, coconut sugar, or fruit juice concentrate read as natural, but the body processes the sugar in them much like table sugar. The FDA's added sugars rule, phased in from 2020 to 2021, requires added sugars to be declared on the Nutrition Facts panel, and the agency has specifically discouraged the term evaporated cane juice as misleading. The severity here is low because sugar itself is well understood and not a contested additive; the flag is about transparency and about helping you see total added sugar when it is spread across several names. Many people track sugar against energy dips, cravings, or sleep in their own logs.

• Granola bars and cereals marketed as natural
• Flavored yogurts and plant-based yogurts
• Fruit juices and juice blends
• Sauces, marinades, and salad dressings
• Baked goods and snack cookies
• Sports drinks and flavored waters
• Nut butters and spreads

A product can list three or four of these names separately, which pushes each one lower in the ingredient order and makes the total sugar harder to see at a glance. The Nutrition Facts panel line for added sugars is the more reliable number, since it sums them regardless of what they are called.

Some people choose products with fewer sweetener names on the list, or reach for whole fruit when they want sweetness with the fiber intact. Comparing the added sugars line on two similar products is usually the fastest way to tell them apart.

• FDA: added sugars on the Nutrition Facts label

fda.gov