Is "0 Energy" a "0" intake?

Superb drinks in the supermarket are loved by many consumers. Nowadays, the temperature gradually rises, and various beverages gradually enter the sales season. But for consumers who want to maintain or lose weight, sugary drinks are the devil. The net uploads that drinking a can of ordinary coke requires jogging for 20 minutes before it can consume its calories! What do you want to drink? These consumers may choose "no sugar" or "zero energy" drinks. However, these labels on the "sugarless" "no energy" "natural fruit juice" and so on in the end do not fly? What do these words mean? In this issue of “Is it true?”, I look at the secrets on the beverage labels, and read the beverage labels to learn how to choose the right ones.

Is "0 Energy" a "0" intake?

Many consumers who are losing weight or controlling weight are particularly concerned about energy intake, so the market has launched a number of "zero energy" drinks accordingly. The energy contained in the nutritional composition table of some beverages is indeed marked with “0,” then what does this “0” mean?

In China's nutrition labeling standards, it is claimed that “zero energy” is required. When the energy in food is lower than 17 kJ/100 g (solid) or 100 ml (liquid), it can claim “0 energy”. In other words, if a beverage is marked with “zero energy,” it does not mean that there is really no energy in the beverage. It is only a small amount, and its intake has a negligible effect on human nutrition.

The same is true if the nutritional content is "0". China's labeling standards stipulate that when the nutrient content is below a certain threshold, it must be marked as “0” because the content is low, the impact on human nutrition and health is insignificant, and the accuracy of the value is poor. That is, the label "0" is not absolutely absent. For example, the actual carbohydrate content of a beverage is 0.3 g/100 g, but because it is below the "0" threshold of 0.5 g/100 g, it is marked as "0" in the nutrient composition table.

"No sugar" means sugar free?

A "sugarless" beverage means that the content of carbohydrate or sugar in the beverage is below the standard "0" limit. That is, the sugar content in 100 g or 100 ml of food is equal to or lower than 0.5 g. Maybe consumers will have doubts. Why does the beverages drink sweetly without sugar?

In fact, in order to obtain a good taste, companies will add sweeteners in their drinks to replace sucrose. Sweeteners are food additives and should be marked on the ingredients list, such as aspartame, acesulfame, and cyclamate.

A "low sugar" beverage similar to a "sugar-free" beverage also means that the carbohydrate or sugar content of the beverage is below a certain threshold. According to China's standard, sugar content is less than 5g/100g or 5g/100ml, which belongs to "low sugar" food. When buying beverages, consumers need to see if the sugar content on the label's nutrient content table meets the requirements.

Does "vitamin C" or "vitamin C rich" mean high vitamin C content?

Beverages claim to contain "vitamin C" or "vitamin C rich", all to illustrate the high vitamin C content.

The requirement for "contains vitamin C" in our country's standards is that the vitamin C contained in each 100 ml of beverage should reach 7.5% of the value of the corresponding NRV (nutrient reference value, which is specifically used to compare nutrient levels on the label), and the NRV value of vitamin C. It is 100 milligrams. That is to say, to reach 7.5 mg or more, or the vitamin C contained in each 420 kJ energy reaches 5% NRV, ie, 5 mg or more.

The "vitamin C-rich" requirement is even higher, and the required amount is twice the above requirement. In the market, the content of vitamin C per 100 ml of this kind of beverage is about 20 mg, which accounts for 20% of NRV, which is in line with China's standards. A bottle of drink to 350 ml, if you drink a bottle, intake of vitamin C 70% of the day. It seems that its vitamin C content is indeed high.

Is "100% juice" the original juice?

It can be found that many beverages are marked with "100% fruit juice" or "pure fruit juice" on the packaging. However, when we look closely at the ingredient list, we find that basically all of them are water and some kind of fruit juice concentrate.

In fact, the exact name of this fruit juice should be “rejuvenate fruit juice”. It is to remove a certain percentage of water from the fruit juice and turn it into concentrated fruit juice, which is convenient for storage and transportation. After adding appropriate amount of water, it can be reduced to original one. Drinks with the same proportion of juice. In layman's terms, concentrated juices and water-reduced juices. So, 100% juice is not equal to the original juice, but it does not add other ingredients, such as white sugar, food additives and other substances.

On the market, consumers can also see “juice drink” and “fruity drink”. Although there is only one word difference, the knowledge can be great!

The juice content of the "juice drink" must be at least 10%. The fruity beverage is made from sugar, sweeteners, sour agents and edible essences. Its taste is mainly formulated by the essence. The fruit juice contains very few ingredients, and even a little juice does not contain it.

So, the difference between the two is still great. In addition to being distinguished from the name, it is also reflected in the ingredient list. There must be juice in the ingredient list of the fruit juice drink, and the fruity drink is not necessarily.

Is "coffee drink" a coffee?

Buying coffee is a frequent choice for fashionistas, but have you noticed that you are buying coffee or coffee drinks?

In fact, the difference between the two can be seen from the list of ingredients, coffee is only one ingredient, that is, coffee beans, coffee powder or instant coffee; coffee drinks is not the case, its top of the list of ingredients is generally white sugar, the end of the plant And glucose syrup, as well as food additives, are used to adjust the flavor and taste of the product. As many as a dozen ingredients, the ranking of coffee is often very late, even in the last one, which means that in all the ingredients, the proportion of coffee is relatively small. Of course, some people are not accustomed to the bitterness of coffee, and the flavor of coffee drinks in China and Italy. However, do not mix the two and think that you are buying pure coffee.