Sugar continues to be at the top of the list of nutrients that consumers are trying to reduce in their diets. A recent update from the American Heart Association noted, "Strong evidence supports the association of added sugars with increased cardiovascular disease in children."
Back in 2016, FDA announced an update to the Nutrition Facts label. As part of that update, the agency called for food and beverage manufacturers to list "added sugars" instead of only "total sugars."
On Jan. 1, 2020, the first stage of FDA's mandated Nutrition Facts label change went into effect. Companies with $10 million in annual sales or more are now required to list added sugars on their products' labels, and other brands will be required to follow suit by 2021.
Armed with natural sweeteners, exciting flavors, functional ingredients and more, processors of ready-to-drink coffee, tea and juice have opportunities galore
Three or four decades ago, consumers had few choices when it came to ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages. The available assortment consisted mainly of milk, soft drinks, juice/fruit drinks and alcoholic beverages such as wine and beer.
These days, terms such as keto, paleo, high-protein, plant-based, vegan, even "pegan" (paleo-plus-vegan), describe not just diets but entire lifestyles.