What Does 'No Added Sugar' Actually Mean In India?
What does 'no added sugar' mean in India?
'No added sugar' in India means the product contains no added sugars as defined by FSSAI — specifically, no mono or disaccharides added during processing or packaging. Under FSSAI regulations (Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020), a product can carry the 'no added sugar' claim only if no sugar has been added and if the product contains no ingredient that contains added sugar.
Critically, 'no added sugar' does not mean the product contains no sugar. It means no sugar was added during manufacturing. The product may still contain natural sugars from fruit, dairy, dates, or other whole ingredients — and these are not counted as 'added sugars' under the regulation.
What counts as added sugar under FSSAI?
Under FSSAI regulations, added sugars include: white sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, cane sugar, beet sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, glucose syrup, honey (when added to a processed product), maple syrup, agave syrup, dextrose, fructose, maltose, and sucrose. Any of these added during processing makes a product ineligible for the 'no added sugar' claim.
What does NOT count as added sugar: natural sugars present in whole ingredients. The fructose in dried mango, the lactose in milk, the sugar in dates — none of these are 'added sugars' even though they contribute to the total sugar content of a product.
What about date syrup — is it an added sugar?
This is where it gets nuanced. Date syrup is made by concentrating date juice. Under FSSAI's current framework, date syrup used as a sweetener in food processing occupies a grey area — it is technically a processed ingredient derived from a natural source, but it functions as a sweetener in the same way that honey or maple syrup does.
The practical position most FSSAI-compliant Indian brands take: products sweetened only with date syrup and no other added sugars can carry the 'no added sugar' claim, on the basis that date syrup is a whole food derivative rather than a refined added sugar. This is the position Kibi Kibi takes — our granola uses date syrup as the only sweetener, carries no refined sugar, and is FSSAI compliant.
This interpretation may evolve as FSSAI guidance develops. It's a live area of regulatory discussion in the Indian food industry.
What 'no added sugar' does not mean
Several things that 'no added sugar' does not guarantee:
- It does not mean low sugar. A product sweetened entirely with dates or fruit puree can be high in total sugars while carrying the 'no added sugar' claim legitimately.
- It does not mean diabetic-friendly. Natural sugars from dates, fruit, and honey raise blood sugar. The rate and extent varies, but 'no added sugar' is not a medical claim and should not be interpreted as one.
- It does not mean no sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners (stevia, sucralose, aspartame) and sugar alcohols (erythritol, maltitol, xylitol) are not 'added sugars' under FSSAI definitions. A product sweetened entirely with maltitol can legally carry the 'no added sugar' claim in India.
- It does not mean low calorie. Nuts, seeds, and whole grains are calorie-dense. A granola with 'no added sugar' can have 400+ calories per 100g.
The difference between 'no added sugar' and 'sugar free'
'Sugar free' under FSSAI means the product contains less than 0.5g of sugars per 100g or 100ml. This is a much stricter claim than 'no added sugar.' A genuinely sugar-free product has essentially no sugar — natural or added. Most products marketed as 'sugar free' in India use artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols to achieve this. Here's a closer look at the problem with 'sugar-free' snacks in India.
'No added sugar' simply means no sugar was added. Total sugar content can be much higher.
The claim that matters most for blood sugar management is total sugars per serving, available on the nutrition facts panel — not the claim on the front of the pack.
What about maltitol — can a 'no added sugar' product still contain it?
Yes. This is one of the most important things to understand about 'no added sugar' claims in India. Maltitol is a sugar alcohol, not a sugar under FSSAI definitions. Products sweetened with maltitol can carry the 'no added sugar' claim while still tasting sweet, still raising blood sugar (maltitol has a glycaemic index of 35–52), and still causing digestive distress in many people. Read the full breakdown of why maltitol is a problem.
If you're buying a 'no added sugar' product and want to verify it doesn't contain maltitol, check the ingredients list for: maltitol, maltitol syrup, or hydrogenated glucose syrup. All three are the same thing.
Kibi Kibi products contain no maltitol, no artificial sweeteners, and no sugar alcohols of any kind. Our sweetness comes from date syrup and whole dates only.
How to read a food label for sugar in India
The most useful number on an Indian food label for sugar is the 'added sugars' row on the nutrition facts panel — included on compliant labels from 2023 onward. This shows exactly how much sugar was added during processing, separate from naturally occurring sugars.
The steps:
- Check the ingredients list for sugar by any name (glucose syrup, dextrose, maltose, invert sugar syrup, brown sugar, cane sugar — all sugar).
- Check for sugar alcohols if the product claims 'no added sugar' but still tastes very sweet (maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol, erythritol).
- Look at the 'added sugars' row on the nutrition panel if available — this is the most direct measure.
- Look at total sugars per serving to understand the full picture including natural sugars.
The front of pack claim tells you what the brand wants you to think. The ingredients list tells you what's actually in it.
