Austria's drinks: sugar lowered, but sweeteners are left out!

Austria's drinks: sugar lowered, but sweeteners are left out!

Österreich - The sugar content in domestic drinks has experienced a remarkable decline in the past 15 years. According to a current study by the Sipcan pension fund, the average sugar content in drinks in Austria has dropped to 5.8 grams per 100 milliliters. In 2010, this value was still 7.5 grams per 100 milliliters, which means a decrease of almost a quarter.

The examination in which almost 600 drinks were analyzed shows that the decline in the sugar content of the domestic beverage industry is attributed. It should be emphasized that international corporations have not adapted their recipes for Austria.

recommended limit values and sweeteners

In cooperation with the Ministry of Health, Sipcan specifies a recommended limit for the sugar content. This was 7.5 grams in 2010 and was reduced to 6.3 grams in 2023. Sipcan also plans to further reduce this limit to 6.0 grams by 2027. Many drinks gradually became less sweet, which helps consumers get used to the lower sweetness.

A striking difference is shown compared to other countries. While a sugar tax was introduced in Great Britain and almost 90 percent of the soft drinks are equipped with sweeteners, the proportion of sweetener -containing drinks in Austria is currently only 14.3 percent. This is considered important to avoid potential health risks, since the World Health Organization (WHO) advises against the use of artificial sweeteners to control weight.

health recommendations

The WHO recommends that adults can absorb a maximum of 10 percent of their daily energy requirement by free sugar, which corresponds to about 50 grams of sugar per day. A liter of a drink with the average sugar content already exceeds this recommended value. These findings illustrate the importance of healthy handling of sugar and sweeteners in nutrition.