Start with the Nutrition Label
The first step to becoming a sugar-savvy shopper is to ignore the flashy claims on the front of the pack and flip it over. In India, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) mandates that all packaged goods display a nutrition information
panel. This little box is your source of truth. You'll find information on energy (calories), protein, fat, and carbohydrates. The line you are looking for is 'Total Sugar'. Recent discussions around labelling may soon require an 'Added Sugar' line, which is even more helpful, as it separates naturally occurring sugars (like in fruit) from those added during processing. According to FSSAI rules, the ingredients must be listed in descending order by weight. If sugar or one of its many other names is one of the first three ingredients, you can be sure the product is high in sugar.
Know Your Daily Limit
How much sugar is too much? The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults and children reduce their daily intake of free sugars to less than 10% of their total energy intake. For an even greater health benefit, they suggest a further reduction to below 5%, which is about 25 grams or 6 teaspoons per day. Many Indian health experts also recommend a target of around 25-30 grams of added sugar daily. To put that in perspective, a single 300 ml can of a popular cola can contain over 30 grams of sugar, exceeding your entire daily limit in one go. Keeping this 25-gram benchmark in mind gives you a powerful tool for making quick decisions in the grocery aisle.
The 'Per 100ml' Standardisation Trick
Here is the most important trick for a fair comparison. Brands often list nutritional information 'per serving', and they get to define what a serving is. This can be misleading. A 500ml bottle might show sugar 'per 100ml serving', making the numbers look small, even though most people would drink a larger quantity. To avoid this confusion, always use the 'Per 100g/100ml' column on the label. This standardises the comparison across all products, regardless of their total size or the brand's suggested serving. When you compare the sugar content per 100ml of a fruit juice to the sugar content per 100ml of a soda, you get a true apples-to-apples (or juice-to-cola) comparison. You might be surprised to find that many packaged fruit juices contain as much, or even more, sugar per 100ml than carbonated soft drinks.
Common Culprits and Surprising Sugar Bombs
While we all know colas and fizzy drinks are high in sugar, other beverages can be just as deceptive. So-called 'health drinks', energy drinks, and many ready-to-drink fruit juices are often loaded with sugar. A 350ml serving of a typical energy drink or packaged apple juice can pack around 38 grams of sugar. Even traditional drinks in packaged form, like sweetened lassi or flavoured milk, can contribute significantly to your daily sugar intake. The 'fruit drink' or 'nectar' category, which is very popular in India, often contains more added sugar and preservatives than actual fruit pulp. The only way to know for sure is to ignore the pictures of fruit on the label and check the sugar content per 100ml for yourself.
Watch Out for Sugar's Many Names
Food manufacturers often use different names for sugar, which can make it harder to spot on the ingredients list. There are over 60 different names for added sugar. Be on the lookout for terms like high-fructose corn syrup, dextrose, sucrose, maltose, corn syrup, cane juice, and maltodextrin. If you see several of these terms on an ingredients list, it's a technique sometimes used to avoid listing 'sugar' as the primary ingredient. Remember the rule: the ingredients are listed by weight, so if any of these terms appear high on the list, the product is likely high in sugar.
