Total sugars
sugars
What it is
Total sugars is the combined amount of sugars present in a food, including sugars naturally present in ingredients and sugars added during processing.
Why BOTIA flags it
The total sugars figure does not show where those sugars came from. BOTIA keeps the declared total separate from added sugars, free sugars and the ingredients that may contribute to it.
BOTIA CAN
- Read the total sugars value declared on the nutrition label and preserve its unit and basis.
- Keep total sugars separate from added sugars and other sugar-related fields when they are declared.
- Connect the declared value with the applicable regulatory information and documented evidence.
BOTIA CANNOT
- Determine how much of the total sugars was added during processing unless the label declares that separately.
- Calculate free sugars from the total sugars value.
- Determine how much sugar comes from each individual ingredient.
- Treat an undeclared total sugars value as zero.