In recent years, with the improvement of living standards, the concept of healthy eating has gradually become popular among the people. Some citizens have begun to pursue "sugar-free food", thinking that sugar-free food can be eaten casually. However, food nutrition experts told reporters that the so-called "sugar-free food" is not necessarily sugar-free, and consumers still need to recognize the label and consume it appropriately.

　　 Last weekend, reporters visited some supermarkets and found that on the shelves of biscuits, cereals and other foods, various "sugar-free biscuits" and "sugar-free cereals" were placed in the most eye-catching places. The reporter noticed that many consumers will deliberately look for "sugar-free" food when shopping, especially women, who almost only recognize "sugar-free". Citizen Ms. Xu told reporters that health is the most important factor in her choice of food. “I am losing weight and my parents’ blood sugar is high, so my family only eats sugar-free food.” When the reporter asked Ms. Xu, “Do you know whether sugar-free food is not? "There must be no sugar", Ms. Xu shook her head, "There should be no sugar, I didn't look at the packaging label."

　　 Nutrition experts told reporters that the so-called "sugar-free" generally refers to sweet foods that do not contain sucrose (cane sugar and beet sugar), glucose, maltose, fructose, etc. According to the national standard "General Rules for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods for Special Dietary Uses", the requirement of "sugar-free" means that the sugar content per 100g or 100ml of solid or liquid food is not more than 0.5g, not completely sugar-free.

　　Experts remind citizens not to be confused by the slogan of "sugar-free food", especially for people with diabetes, they should carefully recognize the food label, carefully read the ingredient list, and confirm which sweetener is used to replace the sugar. Although some foods are marked as "no sucrose", their ingredient list is marked with maltose, white sugar or glucose, which is essentially "changing soup without changing medicine."

Fan Zhihong, an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, College of Food Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, said that taking oatmeal as an example, many consumers choose to buy oatmeal that is known as "no added sucrose" or even "sugar-free", but most of the time they only buy "maltose". "Pulp" instead of sucrose products, or a combination of "dextrin + sweetener". Whether it is maltose syrup or dextrin, it is only stronger than sucrose in raising blood sugar, and there is no health advantage in terms of nutrient content.