The real deal with ‘sugar-free’ bread

Is there really a “sugar-free” bread?

According to a local breadmaker, there is.

“To be called ‘sugar-free,’ the bread—whether you add sugar or not during the production—must have less than 0.5 grams of sugar, based on a serving size of not less than 30 grams,” according to Creative Bakers Inc. president Walter Go.

According to the US Food and Drug Administration’s Guidance for Industry: A Food Labeling Guide, to claim as being “sugar-free,” the bread, or any other product, must meet the internationally set standard of having less than 0.5 grams of sugar per RACC (reference amounts customarily consumed) and contains no ingredient that is a sugar or generally understood to contain sugar, except as noted in its labels.

In a country that has a high incidence of diabetes, “sugar-free” bread or other bread products that are high in fiber and are low in sugar and sodium are recommended to diabetics by their doctors, Go said.

Go, whose business manufactures sugar-free bread, said that such products are popular among those who watch their weight and people who are health-conscious.

Perhaps this is why some bread manufacturers have joined the bandwagon, labeling their products as “sugar-free” for people to buy more of their products, he said.

But people should be aware that not all bread products that are said to be free of something is indeed free from it.

The label “sugar-free” is not some sort of marketing ploy that producers can just throw around, Go said. “Being sugar-free is not something you can just claim. It has to be tested, verified and certified by health authorities, continuously.”

Furthermore, many dieticians agree that a product cannot claim itself as being “healthy” if some aspects of it are not. “There should be benefits, more of the good ones—like the vitamins and minerals—and less of the bad ones—like sugar, sodium and transfat,” Go said.

In the end, Go said that people should be more discerning of what they eat. “We should be more careful. Just because a product labeled itself as “healthy” we take it as it is. We should check the serving [suggestion], and we should read the labels.” Noli A. Ermitanio