Changes in the Presence of Nonnutritive Sweeteners, Sugar Alcohols, and Free Sugars in Australian Foods

Abstract

Background: In parallel with growing consumer interest in reducing sugar intake, manufacturers have increased availability of food and beverage products containing nonnutritive sweeteners (NNSs). However, emerging evidence indicates that specific NNS types have differential effects on cardiometabolic health.

Objective: This study examined overall changes in the presence of NNSs, sugar alcohols, and free sugars in the Australian food supply and the use of specific NNS types.

Participants/setting: Data for 21,051 products in 2015 and 21,366 products in 2019 were extracted from The George Institute's FoodSwitch database.

Main outcome measures: The proportion of products containing NNSs, sugar alcohols, free sugars, and a combination of these, as well as proportion of products containing specific NNS types.

Statistical analyses performed: Changes between 2015 and 2019 were examined using Pearson χ² tests.

Results: Between 2015 and 2019, there was a significant increase in the proportion of food and beverage products containing NNSs (from 3.8% to 4.3%; P < .001) and a significant decrease in products containing free sugars (from 62.7% to 59.9%; P < .001),) driven primarily by nondairy beverages. There were changes in the use of specific NNS types between 2015 and 2019, with a large increase in the use of steviol glycosides (from 33.7% to 50.2%) and a large decrease in the use of sucralose (from 42.4% to 30.5%), aspartame (from 21.0% to 14.4%), and acesulfame K (from 57.4% to 27.7%) (P < .05 for all).

Conclusions: These findings on the use of different NNS, sugar alcohol, and free sugar ingredients and combinations provide important research insights and will be useful in informing government policies that address sugars and other sweeteners in Australian foods.

Keywords: Food supply; Free sugars; Nonnutritive sweetener; Processed foods.