“No Added Sugar” vs “Sugar Free”: What the Labels Mean
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Shoppers often treat “sugar free” and “no added sugar” as the same thing. They aren’t, and the difference matters when you read a pack.
What each claim means
Sugar free. As we understand FSSAI’s rules, a food can only be called “sugar free” if it has no more than 0.5 g of sugars per 100 g. This counts all sugars, including the ones that occur naturally in nuts, oats, milk or fruit.
No added sugar. This means no sugar was added to the recipe. The food can still contain natural sugars, and a pack making this claim should say so, usually with a line such as “contains naturally occurring sugars”.
Where Habbitree’s mixes stand
Our No Added Sugar Almond Kulfi Daily Nutrition Mix lists 0.0 g added sugar. It still has 1.9 g of total sugars per 100 g (0.6 g per 30 g serving), which come naturally from its ingredients.
That is above 0.5 g per 100 g, so we call it “No Added Sugar” and not “sugar free”. Our product page says it contains naturally occurring sugars.
Our other mixes do contain added sugar: 3.5 g per serving in Cookies & Cocoa and 3.2 g per serving in Espresso & Cocoa.
“No added sugar” doesn’t mean low sugar
Our Black Kishmish (black raisins) lists 0.0 g added sugar, but its total sugars are 59.0 g per 100 g. All of it is natural to the fruit. Our sweetened dried cranberries and sweetened dried kiwi, by contrast, list sugar as an ingredient.
So “no added sugar” tells you what was put in, not how much sugar the food contains.
How to read any pack
- Look at the nutrition table. Compare Total Sugars with Added Sugars.
- Read the ingredient list for sugar, jaggery, honey, syrups or sweetened fruit.
- Compare per 100 g between products, since pack and serving sizes differ.
- Check the front-of-pack claim against those numbers.
This post is general information, not medical advice. If you are managing blood sugar, talk to your doctor or dietitian.