FDA excludes allulose from total and added sugars counts on nutrition labels

USA – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a new draft guidance seeking to exclude low-calorie sweetener allulose from total and added sugars counts on nutrition and supplement facts labels.

The new rules will allow manufacturers to exclude allulose from the amount declared in the total and added sugars declarations.

The drafted guidance allows manufacturers to use 0.4 calories per gram of allulose when calculating the calories from allulose in a serving of a product.

They will, however, be required to continue to include allulose in the total carbohydrate’s declaration.

This reinforces FDA’s guidelines on declaration of calories, total carbohydrates, total sugars and added sugars for products that contain allulose on nutrition labels.

“Ensuring that consumers have current, science-based information is one of the key goals of our Nutrition Innovation Strategy,” said Susan Mayne, Ph.D., director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

“We want Americans to be able to easily determine the most relevant and useful information available when looking at Nutrition Facts and Supplement Facts labels.

“One of the several approaches we’ve taken to achieve this important goal is issuing new labeling guidance when we identify an area where further clarity is needed.

“Today, we’re taking such a step by issuing a draft guidance on the labeling of allulose, a sweetener that may be used as a substitute for certain sugars in foods, so that the information presented on Nutrition and Supplement Facts labels appropriately represents its unique properties.”

Under the FDA’s 2016 Nutrition Facts label rule, the amount of allulose needs to be counted towards the amount of total carbohydrates, total sugars and added sugars declared on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts labels.

The rule further dictates that allulose must be counted as four calories per gram of sweetener on Nutrition and Supplement Facts labels.

Allulose is a low-calorie sweetener that is naturally occurring in small amounts in wheat, some fruits, and a variety of other foods and can also be manufactured.

According to FDA data, allulose is different from other sugars in that it is not metabolized by the human body in the same way as table sugar.

It has fewer calories, produces only negligible increases in blood glucose or insulin levels, and does not promote dental decay.