In Europe, you can only put artificial sweeteners in foods if you cut the calories by at least 30%, which makes it hard to slowly reduce sugar in things like cookies and cakes.
Claim Context
Current regulatory restrictions in the EU, which require a 30% energy reduction to use low-calorie sweeteners in foods, limit opportunities for gradual sugar reduction in products like baked goods, potentially hindering public health efforts to reduce free sugar intake.
“Currently, LCS cannot be incorporated into most of the fine baked products (e.g. biscuits or cakes), thus potentially limiting the opportunities for food reformulation. Furthermore, under EU Regulation 1333/2008, the permitted use of LCS depends on... reduction of at least 30% of beverage/food product energy.”
Evidence from Studies
No evidence studies found yet.
What Would Prove This
Per GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this claim, ordered from strongest to weakest.
Expert consensus on the impact of EU food additive regulations on sugar reduction strategies.
A Delphi consensus process involving 30 food policy experts, regulators, and industry representatives evaluating the impact of EU Regulation 1333/2008 on reformulation feasibility and public health outcomes.
Association between EU LCS regulations and the prevalence of sugar-reduced baked goods.
A cross-sectional analysis of 500 packaged baked goods in 10 EU countries, measuring sugar content, LCS use, and compliance with 30% energy reduction rule, comparing product categories with and without LCS allowance.
Whether relaxing the 30% rule leads to greater reductions in population sugar intake over time.
A prospective cohort study comparing sugar intake trends in 10,000 adults before and after a policy change allowing LCS in baked goods with <15% energy reduction, using dietary biomarkers and food purchase data.
Whether food manufacturers in countries with stricter LCS rules produce less sugar-reduced products.
A matched case-control study comparing 50 food manufacturers in EU countries with strict 30% rules vs. 50 in countries with flexible rules, assessing reformulation strategies, product portfolios, and sugar reduction targets.
Causal effect of relaxing LCS regulations on consumer sugar intake.
A natural experiment RCT comparing sugar intake in two matched regions: one implementing policy change allowing LCS in baked goods with 15% energy reduction, the other maintaining current rules, measuring intake via 24-hour recalls and urinary biomarkers over 2 years.