Product-Based Added Sugar Limits: Evaluating Breakfast Cereals
Under the new product-based added sugar limits, breakfast cereal will be limited to no more than 6 grams of added sugars per dry ounce. Let’s review how to evaluate your current offerings as well as other potential products from your suppliers.
For quick reference, the USDA lists the following added sugar maximums for different cereal serving sizes in grams and dry ounces:
- 12-16 grams (1/2 dry oz) – 3 grams added sugars
- 26-30 grams (1 dry oz) – 6 grams added sugars
- 31-35 grams – 7 grams added sugars
- 36-40 grams – 8 grams added sugars
- 45-49 grams – 10 grams added sugars
- 55-58 grams (2 dry oz) – 12 grams added sugars
- 59-63 grams – 13 grams added sugars
- 74-77 grams – 16 grams added sugars
Let’s walk through the process of evaluating a couple items.
Example 1:
You are looking at a cereal that lists a serving size as ¾ cup (30 g). Based on the reference above, what is the maximum grams of added sugars for a serving of this cereal?
The reference lists 6 grams of added sugars as the maximum for a cereal serving of 26-30 grams (1 dry oz).
The Nutrition Facts label for the product shows 4 grams of added sugars in a serving of the cereal. This is less than the limit of 6 grams, so it can be served.
Example 2:
You are looking at a cereal that lists a serving size as 2/3 cup (55 g). It includes 10 grams of added sugars.
Looking at the reference list above, you can see that a 55-58 g serving of cereal is limited to 12 grams of added sugars. That’s more than the amount of added sugars in this particular cereal, so we can serve it.