Why “no added sugar” doesn’t mean a sugar-free drink

Choosing Starbucks’ hot protein matcha by the words “No Added Sugar” alone would miss a useful number: the company lists 16 grams of sugar for a 16-fluid-ounce grande. That matters if you are comparing drinks by how much sugar they contain. The menu entry calls it Sugar-Free Caramel Protein Matcha, but the syrup’s name cannot tell the whole story of the finished cup.

The FDA’s explanation separates two quantities. Total sugars include sugars naturally present in ingredients, such as milk and fruit, along with any added sugars. Added sugars include additions such as table sugar, honey and syrups. Naturally occurring milk sugar belongs in the total, but not in the added-sugar amount. Adding milk to a recipe does not, by itself, turn its naturally occurring sugar into added sugar.

Milk is the first ingredient Starbucks lists. The recipe also includes whey protein isolate, ground green tea and sugar-free caramel syrup containing sucralose. Milk therefore supplies a source of naturally occurring sugar. The menu does not break down the 16 grams by ingredient, however, so it cannot tell us exactly how much each component contributes.

Sugar-free syrup cannot remove sugars already present in other ingredients. Likewise, Starbucks’ “No Added Sugar” wording addresses additions to the recipe rather than saying the finished drink contains no sugar. The company provides a total-sugar figure on this page, but no numerical added-sugar entry. Its description and its published nutrition number are different kinds of information.

That distinction also helps with packaged-food labels. When a label says it “includes” a certain amount of added sugars, those grams are already counted within total sugars. They are not an extra quantity to add on top. Here is a hypothetical example, not Starbucks’ nutrition information:

Total sugars: 12 grams. Includes 4 grams added sugars. That means 12 grams altogether, with 8 grams naturally occurring: 12 − 4 = 8.

The FDA’s Daily Value of 50 grams applies to added sugars, based on a 2,000-calorie daily diet. FDA specifies no Daily Value for total sugars. Dividing this matcha’s 16 grams by 50 would therefore mix two categories; it would not establish the drink’s percentage of the added-sugar Daily Value.

The rest of the nutrition information helps describe the order, too. Starbucks lists 240 calories and 28 grams of protein for this hot grande. The company says its figures are calculated from standard recipes and may vary with customization. They describe a specified recipe and serving, rather than establishing the precise contents of every cup someone receives.

For a useful comparison, check that the nutrition entry matches the drink and cup size you plan to order. A figure for a larger serving answers a different question from one for a smaller serving. Then compare total sugar with total sugar, and added sugar with added sugar where that information is available. If an added-sugar figure is absent, a total-sugar number cannot fill in the blank.