FDA says allulose no longer needs to be included in total or added sugar declaration on labels

FDA recently issued a new draft guidance stating that it intends to exercise enforcement discretion to allow the alternative sweetener allulose to be excluded from the total and added sugars declarations on the Nutritional Facts and Supplement Facts label. “The latest data suggests that allulose is different from other sugars in that it is not metabolized by the human body in the same way as table sugar,” said Susan Mayne, PhD, director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, in a statement. “It has fewer calories, produces only negligible increases in blood glucose or insulin levels, and does not promote dental decay.”

Allulose will continue to count toward the caloric value of food on the label, and must still be declared on the ingredients list. According to Mayne, this is the first time FDA has stated its intent to allow a sugar to not be included as part of the total or added sugars declaration on labels. The guidance document also states the FDA will exercise enforcement discretion to allow manufacturers to use 0.4 calories per gram of allulose when calculating the calories from allulose in a serving, in contrast to the 2016 Nutrition Facts label rule, which states that allulose must be counted as four calories per gram of sweetener.