Updated 13 October 2026: This article has been reviewed and revised for clarity and label-reading accuracy.
A food can taste sweet without every gram of its sugar being classified as Added Sugars. To understand the label, use two different kinds of information: the ingredient list names what went into the food, while Nutrition Facts states the sugar amounts for a defined serving. Neither should replace the other.
This guide explains U.S. label terminology. The example is fictional and does not recommend a product or a portion.
Identify the category before counting grams
Added Sugars includes sugar added during processing or preparation, as well as sweeteners such as table sugar, honey and syrups. Sugar naturally present in milk or whole fruit is not classified as Added Sugars. Total Sugars combines naturally occurring and added sugars.
| What you are looking at | What to check |
|---|---|
| Plain milk or whole fruit | Naturally present sugar contributes to Total Sugars. |
| Honey used to sweeten a cereal bar | Its sugar contributes to the bar’s Added Sugars. |
| A jar of pure honey | Single-ingredient sugars have a special label presentation; check Added Sugars %DV and any explanatory footnote. |
| An unfamiliar sweetener name | Identify the ingredient rather than assuming that every sweetener is a sugar. |
The word sweetener is broader than Added Sugars. FDA describes several kinds, including high-intensity sweeteners and sugar alcohols. A sweet taste or a long ingredient name alone cannot tell you the number of grams of Added Sugars.
Read the ingredient list for identity, not a sugar total
Ingredients generally appear in descending order by weight. This helps answer which ingredients are present and their relative order. It usually does not tell you their individual gram amounts. Do not add up the number of sugar-related names and treat that count as grams or a percentage.
For example, a fictional cereal bar might list oats, honey, nuts and sugar. That identifies honey and sugar as ingredients, but their positions alone do not establish how many grams each contributes. The Added Sugars number is the place to read the declared combined amount for the labeled serving.
Use the number after Includes without double-counting
Suppose the fictional bar’s Nutrition Facts lists 9 g Total Sugars and Includes 6 g Added Sugars for one bar. The 6 g is part of the 9 g. The bar does not contain 15 g sugar. Subtracting the displayed figures gives 3 g that is not classified as added; the label does not assign those grams to particular ingredients.
If you eat two of these bars, the displayed amounts scale to 18 g Total Sugars, including 12 g Added Sugars. Check that you are using the per-bar column before multiplying. A whole-package column may already include multiple servings.
Check special presentations before assuming information is missing
Single-ingredient sugars such as honey can show Added Sugars %DV with gram information in a footnote. Read that explanation. This format helps avoid implying that another sugar was mixed into the honey; it does not mean honey contributes nothing to Added Sugars.
A zero Added Sugars figure also does not automatically mean zero Total Sugars. Read both entries. For an unfamiliar ingredient or presentation, check FDA’s explanation or ask the manufacturer what the current label describes, rather than reconstructing a recipe from ingredient order.
