Comparison of added sugar in dairy products: PAHO algorithm vs. manufacturer’s declaration

Abstract

Introduction: Argentina leads the consumption of added sugars in the Latin American region, with an average daily intake of 90.4 grams per person. In this context, the objective of this study was to compare the estimates of added sugar in dairy products between the algorithm of the nutrient profile model of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the nutrient information declared by the manufacturer, mandatory after the implementation of the legislation that regulates front-of-pack labeling in Argentina (Law 27.642).

Materials and method: cross-sectional and comparative study with non-probabilistic convenience sampling. The products that were included were: chocolate milk, dulce de leche, yogurts and dairy desserts. Free sugars were recorded from sugar added by the manufacturer and declared in the nutrition information. The PAHO formula was also applied to compare the results. The data were presented in 100 g or 100 ml of product and were analyzed with SPSS software.

Results: sample included 202 products. In all categories, the median (Md) of sugar added by the manufacturer was significantly higher than that calculated using the PAHO formula (p<0.05): chocolate milk (Md): 6.5 g vs. 5.5 g, dulce de leche (Md): 40 g vs. 27.5 g, yogurt (Md): 8 g vs. 6.5 g, dairy desserts (Md): 14.7 g vs. 9.5 g, respectively. The same results were obtained when comparing the ratio of added sugar to total sugar declared by the manufacturer and that proposed by the PAHO formula (p<0.05).

Conclusions: the added sugar content declared by the manufacturer exceeded the estimates of the PAHO formula, highlighting the need for public policies that require mandatory reporting of this component in countries without legislation. In addition, this information will allow us to know more precisely sugar consumption in the Argentine population.