How Healthy Is Your Favorite Fruit Drink?

From sweet treats like fruit drinks and cold coffee to savouries like buttermilk and jaljeera, Indians have plenty of options to beat the summer heat. But while you look for ways to stay energizing in the scorching heat, take a moment to check the nutrition label of the next tetra pack or bottle you’re ready to guzzle down.

Many packaged beverages popular during summer have worrying levels of sugar and salt, a Mint analysis of 27 products across seven categories found. Have orange drink. Consuming a standard 200-ml pack can equate to consuming around 25g of sugar – meeting the daily healthy sugar limit with just one drink.

Two to three common products in each of these segments were included in the analysis: Lemon Drinks, Buttermilk, Orange Drinks, Mango Drinks, Lassi, Cold Coffee, Fruity Fizzy Drinks, Aerated Drinks. Except buttermilk, which did not contain much sugar, most other items contained more than 15-20 grams of sugar in a 200 ml pack. The sodium content was high, ranging from 0.1 g to 0.57 g (see graphic). The Ministry of Health recommends limiting sodium intake to 2 grams (or 5 grams of salt) and sugar intake to 25 grams per day.

Note that a single day’s indulgence beyond these limits is not unhealthy, but frequent consumption can be harmful. The Harvard School of Public Health says that beverages with no more than 12 grams of sugar in a 12-ounce (340-gram) serving should be consumed “in moderation.”

trick or Treat?

Popular fruit drinks often advertise themselves as healthy, thanks to the “fruit”. “The first thing consumers would like to know from a mango beverage company is how much mango pulp has actually been used,” said Mehar Panjwani, a Mumbai-based clinical dietitian. “Ideally the packaging should mention the percentage of fruit pulp added.”

A former CEO of a top player in the beverages segment acknowledged the problem. “The product may have just 10% juice content, but the advertisements show them as a pure fruit drink,” he said on condition of anonymity. If you want to have more fruits and reduce the sugar content, the price goes up, making it unaffordable for the lower strata of the society,” he said.

He said that profit-driven manufacturers would not change their ways unless stricter regulations forced them to. Experts said mandatory labeling not only makes manufacturers more accountable, but also makes consumers more aware.

The two companies responded to an email questionnaire we sent last week to some of the top packaged beverage players in India. Both Nestle India and Dabur said they were part of the government’s Eat Right India movement, which urges companies to reduce sugar, salt and trans fats in packaged food. Dabur said it has committed to cut added sugar in its products by 14.4% between 2018 and 2022, well ahead of schedule. The company said it has also reduced serving sizes to offer healthier options. Nestle India said it has achieved its commitment to reduce added sugar, salt and fat across relevant product categories.

loose regulation

In 2020, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) made it mandatory to provide nutritional information on the back of the package. An earlier rule demanded clear disclaimers about adjectives such as ‘natural’, ‘fresh’ and ‘pure’ in brand names, which could be untrue. But such important information is either provided in cryptic language or is difficult to notice. Phrases such as “zero added sugar” are also found on the labels of popular beverages, which hide the use of other sweeteners.

“Manufacturers are exploiting the wording of the rules. Even when a drink doesn’t contain added sugar, you should see the total sugar in bold,” said Arun Gupta, convener of the think-tank Nutrition Advocacy in the Public Interest (NAPI). Or should mention non-sugar sweetener.

FSSAI has been toying with the idea of ​​stronger labeling for a long time, but as of September 2022, it is yet to come out with a draft notification on star ratings on how healthy a pack is. Progress is slow—and corporate lobbies remain bogged down, even as health activists want more rigor than just star ratings.

What to do?

Dr Jyoti Sharma, additional professor at the Indian Institute of Public Health, said parents should be educated about making healthy choices for children. Gupta urged consumers not to fall prey to advertisements that claim items to be ‘natural’. He said that such drinks can be addictive, due to which people can consume it in excess, which can increase the risk of obesity and diabetes.

Homemade drinks and whole fruits are better than canned drinks any day. But if you are forced to go to the market, read labels and monitor your serving size instead of opting for impulsive purchases, experts said.