Common Names for Sugar on Food Labels

Many clients think that their diet is low in sugar, but when they start digging into their food journals, it becomes clear that sugar is sneaking around in unexpected places. In fact, a recent study showed that 74% of packaged foods (everything from BBQ sauce to salad dressing and chips) contain sugar. 

Food manufacturers know that savvy consumers are trying to avoid sugar, so they’ve gotten good at hiding it on the label. Below, a list of 50+ of the most common names used to disguise sugar: 

Basic Simple Sugars

1. Dextrose
2. Fructose
3. Galactose
4. Glucose
5. Lactose
6. Maltose
7. Sucrose

Solid or Granulated Sugars

1. Beet sugar
2. Brown sugar
3. Cane juice crystals
4. Cane sugar
5. Castor sugar
6. Coconut sugar
7. Confectioner's sugar (aka, powdered sugar)
8. Corn syrup solids
9. Crystalline fructose
10. Date sugar
11. Demerara sugar
12. Dextrin
13. Diastatic malt
14. Ethyl maltol
15. Florida crystals
16. Golden sugar
17. Glucose syrup solids
18. Grape sugar
19. Icing sugar
20. Maltodextrin
21. Muscovado sugar
22. Panela sugar
23. Raw sugar
24. Sugar (granulated or table)
25. Sucanat
26. Turbinado sugar
27. Yellow sugar

Liquid or Syrup Sugars

1. Agave Nectar/Syrup
2. Barley malt
3. Blackstrap molasses
4. Brown rice syrup
5. Buttered sugar/buttercream
6. Caramel
7. Carob syrup
8. Corn syrup
9. Evaporated cane juice
10. Fruit juice
11. Fruit juice concentrate
12. Golden syrup
13. High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
14. Honey
15. Invert sugar
16. Malt syrup
17. Maple syrup
18. Molasses
19. Rice syrup
20. Refiner's syrup
21. Sorghum syrup
22. Treacle