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Volume 18
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10.3390/msf2023018013
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Abstract

The Use of Fruit and Vegetable Pastes, Purees, Pulps, and Powders as Added Sugar Ingredients in Selected Packaged Foods †

by
Katherine Daniel
1,
Leanne Young
2 and
Sally Mackay
1,*
1
Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Population Health, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1023, New Zealand
2
National Institute for Health Innovation, University of Auckland, Auckland 1023, New Zealand
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Nutrition Society of New Zealand 2022, Wellington, New Zealand, 1–2 December 2022.
Med. Sci. Forum 2023, 18(1), 41; https://doi.org/10.3390/msf2023018013
Published: 13 March 2023
(This article belongs to the Proceedings of Annual Scientific Meeting of the Nutrition Society of New Zealand 2022)
Versions Notes

Abstract

:
The excess consumption of added sugars is associated with dental caries and an increased risk of chronic disease. Based on WHO recommendations, less than 10% of energy should come from free sugars; however, the current New Zealand (NZ) estimated intake exceeds this. Added sugar labelling is one tool to address this excess consumption. NZ only requires the declaration of total sugar on the Nutrition Information Panel (NIP). The 2022 P1058 FSANZ proposal on added sugar labelling on the NIP currently proposes a definition of added sugar that excludes processed fruit and vegetables. However, processed fruit (pastes, purees, pulps, and powders), in which the cell walls are no longer intact, is considered to be a free sugar by Public Health England. Therefore, a comprehensive definition that includes all types of added sugars to minimise the industry use of processed fruit and vegetables as sweeteners is needed. This research aimed to determine the proportion of packaged products in selected food categories that contain processed fruit and vegetables. We selected the four food product categories that were most likely to contain processed fruit, yet were often marketed as healthy: breakfast cereals, cereal bars, fruit bars, and yoghurts. Using the packaged food database Nutritrack, ingredient lists were searched for the presence of fruit or vegetable pastes, purees, pulps, and powders. Overall, 22.2% of breakfast cereals, 20.8% of cereal bars, 66.7% of fruit bars, and 13.9% of yoghurts contained at least one paste, puree, pulp, or powder. Puree was the most common form of processed fruit in all the categories except for breakfast cereals, where powder was the most common form. There was a minimal use of processed vegetables. These results suggest that a reasonable proportion of key packaged foods contain processed fruit, and given that these are high in free sugars, it should be included in the definition of added sugar to reduce industry use and enable consumers to identify lower-sugar options.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, S.M. and L.Y.; methodology, K.D., S.M. and L.Y.; formal analysis, K.D.; writing—original draft preparation, K.D.; writing—review and editing, S.M. and L.Y. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Because of the commercial and legal restrictions to the use of copy-righted material, it is not possible to share data openly, but unredacted versions of the dataset are available with a licensed agreement that they will be restricted to non-commercial use. For access to Nutritrack, please contact the National Institute for Health Innovation at the University of Auckland at [email protected].

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Daniel, K.; Young, L.; Mackay, S. The Use of Fruit and Vegetable Pastes, Purees, Pulps, and Powders as Added Sugar Ingredients in Selected Packaged Foods. Med. Sci. Forum 2023, 18, 41. https://doi.org/10.3390/msf2023018013

AMA Style

Daniel K, Young L, Mackay S. The Use of Fruit and Vegetable Pastes, Purees, Pulps, and Powders as Added Sugar Ingredients in Selected Packaged Foods. Medical Sciences Forum. 2023; 18(1):41. https://doi.org/10.3390/msf2023018013

Chicago/Turabian Style

Daniel, Katherine, Leanne Young, and Sally Mackay. 2023. "The Use of Fruit and Vegetable Pastes, Purees, Pulps, and Powders as Added Sugar Ingredients in Selected Packaged Foods" Medical Sciences Forum 18, no. 1: 41. https://doi.org/10.3390/msf2023018013

APA Style

Daniel, K., Young, L., & Mackay, S. (2023). The Use of Fruit and Vegetable Pastes, Purees, Pulps, and Powders as Added Sugar Ingredients in Selected Packaged Foods. Medical Sciences Forum, 18(1), 41. https://doi.org/10.3390/msf2023018013

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