No Added Sugar, Yet the Snack Label Lists Sugars. Why?

A snack pack says “no added sugar,” but the nutrition panel lists six grams of sugars. Which figure should you use? They tell you different things. The claim describes how the food was made. The panel tells you how much sugar is in the finished snack, including sugar that came with ingredients such as milk or fruit. To find the amount in your afternoon snack, look at the heading above the number, then work out how much of the pack you will actually eat.

Three details to check before comparing two packs

• Read the exact words on the front. “No added sugar” and “sugar-free” describe different things.
• Find the total sugars line. Added sugars, when listed separately, are already included in that total.
• Check what the number is for: 100 grams, one serving or the whole pack. A small wrapper can still contain several servings.

Where the six grams might come from

Think of plain yogurt with a few pieces of strawberry stirred into it. The milk contains lactose, and the strawberries bring their own sugars. Both contribute to total sugars even if nobody adds sugar to sweeten the mixture. The six grams in our example are illustrative. The total alone doesn't tell you how much came from the milk and how much came from fruit.

This distinction is handy when browsing the no added sugar category. Use the category to find options, then check the label for the specific flavour. A plain wafer and a cream-filled version can have almost identical wrappers. If the only back-of-pack photo shows a different flavour, ask for a matching photo before entering the figures in a food diary.

Read down the panel, including the small print

A panel may list carbohydrate and then “of which sugars.” The second number describes the sugars within the carbohydrate total. It doesn't identify what the manufacturer added during preparation. Some panels have a further line for added sugars. On a different snack, for example, six grams of total sugars including two grams of added sugars means six grams altogether. Adding the two again would count them twice.

The layout depends on the label. The Saudi Food and Drug Authority nutrition labelling guide illustrates how quantities and their reference units appear on a panel. For US-style packs, the FDA guide to added sugars explains the indented “includes” line. If a pack has no separate figure for added sugar, don't turn a missing number into a zero.

One biscuit, two biscuits or a hundred grams?

Here is a made-up example you can repeat with your own snack. A biscuit label lists 12 grams of total sugars per 100 grams. The bag weighs 50 grams and contains two equal biscuits. One biscuit weighs 25 grams, a quarter of the reference weight. It therefore contains three grams of sugars. Eat both biscuits and you get six grams. Nothing about the recipe has changed between those two calculations.

Now consider a second biscuit with four grams of sugars per serving. Four looks smaller than twelve until you notice its serving weighs only 20 grams. Five servings make 100 grams, so it has 20 grams of sugars per 100 grams. At equal weight, the first biscuit has less sugar. But if you eat the entire first bag and only half a serving of the second, the amount you eat reverses the comparison. Decide which question you are answering before choosing a column.

Comparing recipes? Put them on the same weight basis. Tracking your own snack? Use the amount you actually ate.

What the ingredients can tell you about sweetness

A sweet taste is a clue to look more closely, not a way to measure grams. A chocolate snack might contain milk, pieces of fruit or a sweetener such as stevia. Another product might use honey or syrup to sweeten the recipe. Sugars from honey added for that purpose count as added sugars even if the ingredient name doesn't include the word “sugar.” The ingredients tell you what went into the snack. They generally cannot divide the sugar total into an exact contribution from each ingredient.

When comparing two items in the snack aisle, match the number to your reason for choosing. If you care about energy, read calories for equal quantities. Nuts and fats can contribute energy regardless of whether sugar was added. If protein is another priority, check grams of protein separately. The protein bar guide walks through that part of the label.

Shopping from a phone screen

Zoom out just far enough to see the column headings. A cropped picture can make the nutrient number easy to read while hiding whether it refers to a serving or 100 grams. Save a picture that includes both. If you use the snack selection guide to shortlist different foods, write down the unit beside each figure. A note that says “3 g sugars per biscuit” is much easier to use later than a bare “3.”

Treat toppings separately. If you pour syrup over your snack, the syrup has its own label and serving size. The sauce and syrup guide covers that use. For front-of-pack wording found in Saudi stores, the SFDA sugar guide illustrates the different claims.

Updated November 5, 2026.

Questions about no added sugar on snack labels

Can a no added sugar snack list total sugars?

Yes. Sugars from ingredients such as fruit or milk still appear in the total. Check the amount for the portion you intend to eat.

Which number goes in the total sugars field of my food diary?

Use total sugars for the amount eaten. If your diary also tracks added sugars and the label provides that number, enter it in its own field.

Is no added sugar the same as sugar-free?

No added sugar describes the addition of sugar during preparation. Sugar-free is a claim about the amount in the finished food under the applicable rules. Read the wording as printed.

Does no added sugar mean fewer calories?

Compare the energy line per equal weight. A nut filling or a different amount of fat can change the calories without changing the wording about added sugar.

How much sugar is in half a serving?

Halve the number if the panel gives it per serving. For a value given per 100 grams, first find the weight eaten, then apply that fraction of 100 grams.

Does “of which sugars” mean added sugars?

Under carbohydrate, it generally describes total sugars. Look for a line explicitly labelled added sugars if you need that figure. The ingredient list alone won't supply the missing grams.

Does honey added to a biscuit count?

Sugars from honey used to sweeten the dough count as added sugars. The ingredient being called honey rather than table sugar doesn't change that.

Must the recipe contain a sweetener if it tastes sweet?

No. Fruit or other ingredients can account for the taste. Check the ingredient list for that flavour rather than assuming all varieties use the same recipe.

Should I use the carton label or the individual wrapper?

Use the panel for the exact flavour and pack size you have. Check whether it describes one piece or several. The number of wrappers in the carton doesn't establish the serving count.

What if the store only shows the front?

Ask for a clear photo of the ingredients, nutrition panel and serving size for the same flavour. That gives you enough information to compare the snack without guessing from the packaging.