No sugar added-hah!

[I Feel Pretty]

So, today my hubby and I were with our kids, treating them to gelato. Two of the flavors were labeled as "no sugar added". I asked what kind of sweetener they used. He said they used fructose.

I stood there with a blank look. My son is type 1 diabetic, so I'm pretty familiar with what foods have carbs.

What? Fructose is basically sugar! No, its not table sugar (which is glucose + fructose). But, excuse me, it is sugar!!!

I kept saying "but..but...it is still carbs!"

He kept saying "well, it is what we decided to go with." As if fructose was somehow a choice that could be lumped in with stevia, splenda or aspartame!

I was just amamzed that they labeled it in such a misleading way. Some people would never think to ask what it was sweetened with!

[atkinsgal08]

Re: No sugar added-hah!

It's not the word "sugar" ... that's how the labeling gets away with it.

Just as the "Sugar Free" Cool Whip has corn syrup as the 2nd ingredient ... the WORD sugar doesn't appear in the list of ingredients, so they can legally say "sugar free"!

It is annoying!

[Sims]

Re: No sugar added-hah!

Sometimes the sugar free alternatives are far worse IMO. I can't digest sugar free stuff made with aspartame, splenda or sugar alcohols - it wreaks havoc on my digestive tract. It's a good thing you asked what it was sweetened with. It irks me when food producers use sugar and can label food as sugar free. Worse yet are those commercials that suggest high fructose corn syrup is actually good for you!

[chinadoll]

Re: No sugar added-hah!

Gee I would be tempted to tell them they should adjust their advertising unless they want a problem on their hands should someone who is Diabetic have a problem after eating their "no sugar" foods. Maybe that would wake them up.

[LageNomAi]

Re: No sugar added-hah!

Good for you for asking. I have found more than once with "sugar-free" foods that things labeled "sugar-free" are in fact not.

On a slight tangent, I will add this: once I started reading more about food, food production, and U.S. standards for same, I became incredibly skeptical about almost anything that food producers and manufacturers say about their own food. I hate to say this, but a high level of cynicism is warranted when it comes to food.

[liv]

Re: No sugar added-hah!

I was just reading "Eat this, not that" and it was such an eye opener in marketing tricks. Boy oh boy what idiotic claims are put on boxes of products. It was so funny to see the authors analyze the ingredients of a label that is calling itself "health choice"
Sugarfree and fat free should send warning signs to anyone. What kind of chemicals did they actually add in the food.

[Suzanne_H]

Re: No sugar added-hah!

Oh I know don't ya hate that??? Burns my biscuits when manufacturers and vendors lie about their products, and even moreso when it threatens diabetics and low-carbers. I've learned to always be sceptical and to assume that if a label seems too good to be true, it probably is. I figure I can live without it.

I was thinking though that creameries like Cold Stone may offer fresh fruit mix-ins like fresh strawberries they may be willing to sell just as a side dish. I don't know if the gelato parlor had anything like that. Hmmm