Research

Mixed

Implementation of front-of-package warning labels on high-sugar foods drives food industry reformulation by replacing added sugars with non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS), particularly sucralose and stevia, rather than simply reducing total sugar content.

Regulations forcing sugar reduction often lead manufacturers to add artificial sweeteners instead of just cutting sugar. If you are trying to reduce sugar intake, check the ingredients list for sweeteners like sucralose or stevia; their presence indicates the product was reformulated to meet sugar limits, not necessarily to be healthier overall.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Our results suggest that NNSs likely replaced sugars after the initial implementation of the law.
Camila Zancheta Ricardo et al. · Frontiers in Nutrition · 2021

Why this rating

Longitudinal matched-sample design with large N, though observational.

Source

Changes in the Use of Non-nutritive Sweeteners in the Chilean Food and Beverage Supply After the Implementation of the Food Labeling and Advertising Law

Camila Zancheta Ricardo et al. · Frontiers in Nutrition · 2021

DOI 10.3389/fnut.2021.773450

cohort · n=999Cited 68×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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