New Scientific Opinion EFSA on the Tolerable Upper Intake Level for dietary sugars
Cosun Beet Company is very pleased with the publication of the EFSA Scientific Opinion on a Tolerable upper intake level (UL) for dietary sugars.The Agency could not set a science-based UL for dietary sugars from all sources based on their effects on bodyweight and other health outcomes. EFSA assessed more than 30,000 scientific publications. It reconfirms that dietary sugars are safe to use as food ingredients and that dietary sugars, especially sucrose, are amongst the most investigated ingredients on earth.
Following the request of five European Nordic countries in June 2016 EFSA and its Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA) has been working for the past five years on a scientific opinion on the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) of dietary sugars. The main purpose of this request was for EFSA to update its 2010 assessment and review more recent scientific data in the literature on links between intake of sugars and various metabolic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, gout and dental caries. More specifically, the requesters asked EFSA if it would be possible to set a science-based cut-off point for dietary sugars (i.e., an upper limit - UL) below which long-term daily intake would unlikely pose a risk of adverse health effects. In its 2010 opinion on Dietary Reference Values (DRV) for carbohydrates and dietary fibre, the Agency could not set an upper limit for sugar intake based on the available data.
Although it was not possible to set an UL, EFSA also concludes that the intake of added and free sugars should be as low as possible in the context of a nutritionally adequate diet. A very weak scientific conclusion as EFSA themselves state: “The Panel notes that the relationship between the intake of added and free sugars and risk of chronic metabolic diseases could not be adequately explored at levels of intake <10 E% owing to the low number of RCTs available, and that the uncertainty about the shape and direction of the relationship at these levels of intake is higher than at intakes ≥10 E%”. This approach also conflicts with their own protocol for the scientific opinion on the Tolerable Upper Intake Level of dietary sugars, released in 2018.
In 2015 the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended, after a similar scientific review, to reduce the intake of free sugars in the diet to less than 10% of total energy intake, based on moderate quality evidence from observational studies of dental caries.
Sustainable calories
The human body makes no difference in the utilization of sugars that are naturally present in e.g. fruits and vegetables or added sugars. Of course, fruit and vegetables have many beneficial nutrients, fibre, vitamins and minerals. All carbohydrates, sugars or (complex) starches contain 4 kcal/gram, protein also contains 4 kcal/gram and fats 9 kcal/gram. Sucrose is a sugar that comes from nature, and is synthesized in the green leaves of plants by photosynthesis. Cosun Beet Company processes locally sourced sugar beets, uses all components of the beet for multiple applications (e.g. feed, green energy and biobased packaging) and extracts its sucrose in an efficient way. Calories from sucrose are, compared to calories from other food groups, associated with a low carbon footprint.
Multifunctional
Sucrose is one of the most commonly used dietary sugars and has, apart from its sweet taste, many functional properties. Examples are: preservation (sugar stops bacteria from growing and delays spoilage), texture and mouthfeel (sugar helps provide the soft structure in baked goods and the smoothness in frozen dairy products) and as feedstock for fermentation processes in e.g. salami and bread. Sucrose has been the key ingredient in the development of cakes, cookies, pastry, chocolates, mints and sweets, lemonades and liquors. All are indulgence products which are a pleasure for the eye, give people joy and should be eaten in moderation.
Moderation & Sustainability
EFSA advises as low as possible for the use of added and free sugars in the context of a nutritionally adequate diet. This advice will not help to prevent extreme dieting. This advice will stimulate the increased use of artificial sweeteners in traditional products replacing sugar with no free choice for those consumers, who prefer foods without artificial sweeteners.
Furthermore, it will trigger an enormous reformulation effort in various solid foods to replace added natural sugars with flour, starches, fats and oils, thickeners, artificial sweeteners, etc. with no target for calorie reduction. Thus having no effect on the calories we eat.
To the contrary, eating in moderation added and free sugars with less than 10 E% energy can fit in a nutritionally adequate diet, which at the same time is helping sustainability goals.