What Are the Names of Added Sugars?
What Are the Names of Added Sugars?
Added sugars are one of the most misunderstood parts of the Nutrition Facts label. People often know they are supposed to “watch” or limit added sugars, but many are unsure what counts, where they appear, and how to identify them beyond white granulated sugar.
This confusion is understandable. Added sugars appear in many forms, serve different functions in food, and often go by names that sound less familiar or less obviously sugary. Understanding what added sugars are and how they are labeled helps make food labels more useful and less frustrating.
This post builds on prior discussions of carbohydrates, sugar, and the Nutrition Facts panel, and focuses specifically on how added sugars are defined and identified. It is also part of a broader discussion of carbohydrates as starch, fiber, and sugar, and how each plays a role in our overall health. Added sugars are just one piece of that picture. I have included links to these additional posts.
Added Sugars Versus Naturally Occurring Sugars
Added sugars are listed separately on the Nutrition Facts panel under total sugars. This line distinguishes sugars added during processing, preparation, or manufacturing from those naturally present in foods.
Read: Nutrition Facts Panel, Part 2: Fats, Cholesterol, Carbohydrates, and Protein
Read: Sugars: Natural vs Added
Naturally occurring sugars are found in whole foods such as fruit, milk, and plain yogurt. Fructose in fruit and lactose in milk are examples. These sugars are part of the food’s natural structure and come packaged with fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, and water.
Added sugars are sugars or syrups added to foods and beverages to enhance sweetness, texture, shelf life, or palatability. This includes sugars added during manufacturing, cooking, baking, or at the table.
Are Maple Syrup and Honey Added Sugars or Naturally Occurring Sugars?
This question comes up often, and it is a fair one.
If a product contains a single ingredient such as 100 percent pure maple syrup, honey, or white granulated sugar, the sugar in that product is considered naturally occurring for labeling purposes. That means it will not appear as an added sugar on its own Nutrition Facts label.
This distinction caused confusion and debate when the updated Nutrition Facts label was introduced. Maple syrup, as a single-ingredient product, is not classified as an added sugar. However, when maple syrup is used as an ingredient in another food, it becomes an added sugar in that product.
The same logic applies to honey, agave, and table sugar. A packet of sugar or a spoonful of honey on its own is not labeled as added sugar. Once it is added to coffee, tea, yogurt, cereal, or baked goods, it counts as added sugar.
Where to Look for Added Sugars on Food Labels
There are two places to look when trying to identify added sugars.
The first is the Nutrition Facts panel. Under total sugars, there is a line for added sugars that lists the grams and the percent of the Daily Value (%DV). This tells you how much sugar was added to the product during processing or preparation.
Read: Nutrition Facts Panel, Part 4: % Daily Values and Other Information
The second place is the ingredient list. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, so sugars listed near the top make up a larger portion of the product.
Looking at the ingredient list does not tell you how much added sugar is present, but it does tell you what types of sugars were used.
If the ingredient list contains only one item, such as sugar or maple syrup, then it is not an added sugar product. If sugars appear alongside other ingredients, they are added sugars.
Why Added Sugars Have So Many Names
Added sugars go by many different names. Not all added sugars are white granulated sugar, and many sound more natural or less processed, even though they function the same way in the body.
Sugars are added for more than sweetness. They affect texture, browning, moisture retention, fermentation, and shelf life. In baking, different sugars behave differently. Honey produces a softer texture and more moisture than white sugar. Molasses adds color and a bolder flavor. Corn syrup helps prevent crystallization.
Changing the type of sugar in a recipe changes how the final product behaves, but it does not make it more nutritious simply because the sugar source sounds less refined.
This is why ingredient lists can look long and complicated, even when the end result tastes simply sweet.
Common Names for Added Sugars
There are dozens of names for added sugars. Recognizing them helps spot added sugars more easily, especially when several are used in the same product.
Here are 30 commonly used names for added sugars (though there are more):
Agave nectar
Brown rice syrup
Brown sugar
Cane crystals
Cane sugar
Coconut sugar
Corn sweetener
Corn syrup
Crystalline fructose
Dextrose
Evaporated cane juice
Fructose
Fruit juice concentrates
Honey
Invert sugar
Lactose
Malt sugar
Malt syrup
Maltose
Maple sugar
Molasses
Nectars
Raw sugar
Rice syrup
Sucrose
Sugar
Syrup
White granulated sugar
Some of these sugars also occur naturally in whole foods. When they are part of the food itself, they are not added sugars and do not appear separately on labels. For example, milk naturally contains lactose, so it is not listed as an added sugar unless lactose or another sugar is added.
Are Added Sugars Always a Problem?
Added sugars do not need to be eliminated entirely. The Dietary Guidelines recommend keeping added sugars to less than 10 percent of total daily calories. This allows room for flexibility while still supporting overall health.
The concern with added sugars is not that they exist, but that they are easy to overconsume, especially in beverages, snacks, and highly processed foods. Added sugars contribute calories without adding fiber, protein, vitamins, or minerals, which can crowd out more nutrient-dense foods over time.
Context matters. A small amount of added sugar in a balanced meal is different from frequent high intake spread throughout the day.
The Bigger Picture
Added sugars are part of a larger conversation about carbohydrates, labeling, and nutrition literacy. Sugar has been heavily moralized and oversimplified in popular nutrition messaging, which often leads to confusion rather than clarity. It leads to the demonization of some foods unnecessarily, and food shaming for enjoying some of these foods.
Understanding what added sugars are, how they are labeled, and where they show up helps shift the focus back to patterns rather than single ingredients. No one food or ingredient, even a form of added sugar, defines the quality of a diet. It is the overall pattern of eating consistently over time that defines the quality of a diet.
As mentioned, this post fits into the broader discussion of carbohydrates as starch, fiber, and sugar, and how each plays a role in health. Added sugars are just one piece of that picture.
Related blogs in this series:
Carbohydrates vs Sugar: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters
Explained: A Foundational Guide to Nutrition
Fiber, Starch, and Sugar Explained
Insoluble, Functional Fiber, and Resistant Starch
What Are Net Carbs and Do They Actually Matter?
Nutrition Facts Panel: Serving Sizes, Servings Per Container, and Calories
Nutrition Facts Panel, Part 2: Fats, Cholesterol, Carbohydrates, and Protein
Nutrition Facts Panel, Part 3: Sodium, Potassium, and Other Vitamins and Minerals
Nutrition Facts Panel, Part 4: % Daily Values and Other Information
Real World Nutrition Refreshed: I am revitalizing and updating my blog archive and re-publishing it. Stay tuned as I review, update, refresh, and re-share these posts to provide you with even more valuable information on nutrition, health, and overall wellness—and keep things timely. A portion of this blog was initially posted on October 13, 2022, and has been updated here.
