Sugars and artificial sweeteners in soft drinks: A decade of evolution in Portugal

Abstract

High consumption of free sugars, particularly through soft drinks, represents a health concern on a global scale. Therefore, several measures, including taxation, were tentatively employed to reduce their intake. However, the decrease of sugars in soft drinks has been occurring mostly at the expense of adding non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS). This study aimed to investigate the recent trends in soft drink reformulations by the food industries and to verify if these modifications can potentially lead to other health implications. For this purpose, the most consumed soft drinks in Portugal (N = 68) were purchased in local supermarkets in 2019 and their free sugar and NNS content were determined by liquid chromatography. The results were further compared with analytical data from 2008. For sugar drinks in 2019 (N = 10), 39% of the samples had a total sugar content near 5 g.L−1 and only a small fraction (15%) was above the upper bound limit of taxation (80 g.L−1). The profile and amount of sugars were distinct between groups with “colas” and “juice drinks” showing the highest variability between brands, being mostly represented by fructose and glucose. Non-nutritive sweeteners were present in most samples (85%), often in mixtures and very dependent on the type of drink. Nevertheless, the main NNS were cyclamate, aspartame and acesulfame K, with the former approaching the recommended daily dose for younger children consuming two cans per day. Over the last decade, sugar content has been reducing, especially in “Juice drinks”, together with a reduction of aspartame in these food products, balanced by an increase in cyclamate, sucralose and steviol glycosides. Unfortunately, the reformulations did not follow any attempt to reduce sweet taste intensity, which could gradually constitute a long-term educational measure.