60names in this guide
25 gabout 6 teaspoons: the WHO’s ideal daily limit for free sugars
1stingredients are listed by weight, so early means a lot
How do you spot sugar on a label?
- 1
Check the nutrition panel
Look for “Added sugars” (US) or “of which sugars” (UK and EU) per serving and per 100 g.
- 2
Read the ingredients from the top
Ingredients are listed by weight, so a sugar near the start means there is a lot of it.
- 3
Count every sugar
Several different sugars can each sit lower in the list and still add up to the biggest ingredient.
- 4
Watch the patterns
Words ending in “-ose”, anything called syrup, nectar, malt or juice concentrate is almost always sugar.
Obvious sugars 18
Easy to recognise — the word “sugar” or a familiar syrup is right there.
| Name | What it is | Where it hides |
|---|---|---|
| Sugaralso white sugar, table sugar | Plain table sugar: sucrose from cane or beet. | Biscuits, Breakfast cereals, Ketchup and sauces |
| Cane sugaralso organic cane sugar, pure cane sugar | Sucrose from sugar cane — the same as table sugar. | Soft drinks, Chocolate, Organic snacks |
| Beet sugar | Sucrose from sugar beet — identical to cane sugar. | Sweets, Jams, Baked goods |
| Brown sugaralso light brown sugar, dark brown sugar | Sugar with a little molasses for colour and flavour. | Barbecue sauce, Cookies, Granola |
| Raw sugaralso raw cane sugar | Less-refined cane sugar — still sucrose. | Café sugar sachets, Muesli bars, Wholefood baking |
| Caster sugaralso castor sugar, superfine sugar | Fine-grained white sugar for baking. | Cakes, Meringues, Desserts |
| Icing sugaralso powdered sugar, confectioner's sugar | White sugar milled to a powder. | Frosting, Glazed doughnuts, Pastries |
| Demerara sugaralso demerara | Crunchy golden crystals of lightly refined cane sugar. | Coffee shops, Crumble toppings, Biscuits |
| Muscovado sugaralso muscovado, barbados sugar | Dark, sticky unrefined cane sugar. | Gingerbread, Chutneys, Barbecue sauce |
| Turbinado sugaralso turbinado | Steam-cleaned raw cane sugar crystals. | Coffee sachets, Baked goods, “Natural” snacks |
| Honeyalso raw honey, organic honey | About 80% sugar, mostly fructose and glucose. | Cereal bars, Granola, Yogurts |
| Maple syrupalso pure maple syrup, maple sugar | Boiled-down maple sap — about two-thirds sugar. | Pancake mixes, Granola, Oat snacks |
| Golden syrupalso refiner's syrup, refiners syrup | Amber syrup from sugar refining. | Flapjacks, Biscuits, Treacle tart |
| Molassesalso cane molasses, sugarcane molasses | Dark syrup left over from sugar refining. | Barbecue sauce, Baked beans, Gingerbread |
| Corn syrupalso light corn syrup, dark corn syrup | Glucose syrup made from corn starch. | Sweets, Pecan pie, Sauces |
| Cane syrupalso sugarcane syrup, sugar cane syrup | Sugar cane juice boiled into a syrup. | Cocktail mixers, Southern-style baking, Sauces |
| Sorghum syrupalso sorghum molasses, sweet sorghum syrup | Syrup boiled from sweet sorghum juice. | Baked goods, Breakfast syrups, Gluten-free products |
| Caramelalso caramelised sugar, caramelized sugar | Sugar cooked until brown — still sugar. | Coffee drinks, Desserts, Chocolate bars |
Sneaky sugars 22
Chemical-sounding names, often ending in “-ose”, and industrial syrups that don’t look like sugar at all.
| Name | What it is | Where it hides |
|---|---|---|
| Sucrosealso saccharose | The chemical name for table sugar. | Sports drinks, Supplements, Syrups and medicines |
| Dextrosealso dextrose monohydrate, dextrose anhydrous | Pure glucose, common in sauces. | Cured meats, Crisps and seasonings, Sauces |
| Glucosealso grape sugar, glucose powder | The simplest sugar — straight into your blood. | Sweets, Energy gels, Baked goods |
| Fructosealso fruit sugar, crystalline fructose | Fruit sugar, sold as a “natural” sweetener. | “Diabetic” sweets, Drinks, Diet products |
| Maltosealso malt sugar | Malt sugar: two glucose molecules. | Beer, Malted drinks, Sweets |
| Lactosealso milk sugar | Milk sugar, added as a cheap filler. | Crisp seasonings, Processed meats, Ready meals |
| Galactose | A simple sugar — one half of lactose. | Dairy products, Supplements, Processed foods |
| Maltodextrinalso maltodextrins | Spikes blood sugar faster than table sugar. | Protein powders, Crisps, Sports drinks |
| Rice malt syrupalso brown rice syrup, rice syrup | Glucose-based syrup made from rice. | Granola bars, Rice milk, Baby snacks |
| Glucose syrupalso liquid glucose, wheat glucose syrup | Liquid sugar made from starch. | Sweets, Cereal bars, Ice cream |
| High fructose corn syrupalso hfcs, high-fructose corn syrup | Corn syrup with part of the glucose turned into fructose. | Soft drinks, Ketchup, Bread |
| Glucose-fructose syrupalso fructose-glucose syrup, isoglucose | The EU label name for high-fructose syrups. | Soft drinks, Sauces, Biscuits |
| Corn syrup solidsalso dried glucose syrup, glucose syrup solids | Corn syrup dried into a powder. | Coffee creamer, Infant formula, Powdered drinks |
| High-maltose syrupalso high maltose corn syrup, high maltose glucose syrup | Starch syrup rich in malt sugar. | Sweets, Baked goods, Beer |
| Trehalose | A glucose-glucose sugar used to keep food fresh. | Baked goods, Frozen foods, Sweets |
| Isomaltulosealso palatinose | A slow-release sugar made from beet sugar. | Sports drinks, Energy bars, “Low GI” products |
| Invert sugaralso invert sugar syrup, inverted sugar syrup | Table sugar split into glucose and fructose. | Sweets, Fondant, Baked goods |
| Sweetened condensed milkalso condensed milk, sweetened condensed skimmed milk | Milk cooked down with lots of added sugar. | Fudge, Iced coffee, Desserts |
| Milk permeatealso dairy permeate, whey permeate | A dairy by-product that is mostly lactose. | Flavoured milk, Crisp seasonings, Baked goods |
| Liquid sugaralso sugar syrup, sucrose syrup | Table sugar dissolved in water. | Soft drinks, Canned fruit, Iced tea |
| Black treaclealso treacle | A dark British syrup made with molasses. | Gingerbread, Christmas cake, Dark breads |
| Corn sweeteneralso corn sweeteners | A catch-all name for sugars made from corn. | US processed foods, Soft drinks, Baked goods |
Sugars that sound healthy 20
Natural-sounding sweeteners — nectars, fruit concentrates, unrefined sugars. Your body still treats them as added sugar.
| Name | What it is | Where it hides |
|---|---|---|
| Coconut sugaralso coconut palm sugar, coconut blossom sugar | Palm-sap sugar that is mostly sucrose. | Paleo snacks, Energy balls, Vegan baking |
| Coconut nectaralso coconut syrup, coconut blossom nectar | Coconut flower sap simmered into a syrup. | Raw desserts, Health bars, Smoothies |
| Agave syrupalso agave nectar, blue agave syrup | Mostly fructose — low GI, still sugar. | Smoothies, Vegan desserts, Cocktails |
| Date syrupalso date nectar, silan | Dates cooked and strained into a syrup. | Energy balls, Baby foods, Middle Eastern desserts |
| Date sugar | Dried dates ground into granules. | Paleo baking, Health snacks, Toppings |
| Fruit juice concentratealso concentrated fruit juice, fruit juice concentrates | Juice with the fibre removed. | Fruit snacks, “No refined sugar” bars, Kids’ drinks |
| Apple juice concentratealso concentrated apple juice, apple concentrate | The go-to sweetener behind “sweetened with fruit”. | Fruit spreads, Baby foods, Cereal bars |
| Grape juice concentratealso concentrated grape juice, white grape juice concentrate | Very sweet grape syrup used in fruit snacks. | Fruit snacks, Jams, Juice drinks |
| Evaporated cane juicealso dehydrated cane juice, cane juice crystals | A fancy name for cane sugar. | Organic snacks, Yogurts, Plant milks |
| Barley malt extractalso barley malt syrup, malt extract | Malted barley syrup — mostly maltose. | Breakfast cereals, Bread, Malted drinks |
| Oat syrupalso oat malt syrup | Oat starch turned into sugar by enzymes. | Oat bars, Plant-based desserts, Cereals |
| Panelaalso rapadura, piloncillo | Unrefined whole cane sugar, set in blocks. | Latin American sweets, Drinks, Wholefood baking |
| Jaggeryalso gur, cane jaggery | Traditional unrefined sugar from cane or palm. | Indian sweets, Chai, Chutneys |
| Sucanat | Whole cane sugar under a brand name. | Wholefood baking, Organic snacks |
| Carob syrupalso carob molasses | Syrup made from sweet carob pods. | Health-food desserts, Middle Eastern sweets, Snack bars |
| Pomegranate molassesalso pomegranate syrup, pomegranate concentrate | Pomegranate juice reduced to a tangy syrup. | Salad dressings, Marinades, Middle Eastern dishes |
| Concentrated grape mustalso grape must, rectified concentrated grape must | Cooked-down grape juice used as a “natural” sweetener. | Balsamic glaze, Fruit spreads, Italian sweets |
| Tapioca syrupalso cassava syrup, tapioca starch syrup | Glucose syrup made from cassava. | Organic bars, Gluten-free snacks, Gummies |
| Palm sugaralso gula melaka, palm jaggery | Sap sugar from palm trees. | Thai curries, Asian desserts, Sauces |
| Blackstrap molassesalso blackstrap | The darkest, most-boiled molasses. | Health-food baking, Supplements, Baked beans |
Common questions
What are hidden sugars?
Hidden sugars are added sugars listed under names that don’t say “sugar”, such as maltodextrin, dextrose, rice malt syrup or fruit juice concentrate. They count toward your added-sugar intake just like table sugar.
How many names does sugar have on food labels?
This guide lists 60 common ones: 18 obvious sugars, 22 sneaky ones and 20 that sound healthy. Manufacturers can use several of them in one product, so each appears lower in the ingredient list.
Are honey, maple syrup and coconut sugar healthier than sugar?
Not in the way that matters here. The WHO counts honey, syrups and fruit juice concentrates as free sugars, the same category as table sugar, so they count toward the same daily limit.
How much added sugar is too much?
The WHO recommends keeping free sugars below 10% of daily energy, ideally below 5% — about 25 g or 6 teaspoons. The American Heart Association suggests no more than 25 g a day for most women and 36 g for most men.
Does the sugar in whole fruit count?
No. Sugar inside whole fruit and plain milk isn’t counted as free or added sugar. Fruit juice and juice concentrates are different: the fibre is gone and the WHO counts them as free sugars.
Learn them one minute a day
Label detective in SweetZero turns these 60 names into a daily five-label quiz, with a streak and a field guide that fills as you go.
Cutting sugar out? Here’s what the first days feel like and how long it lasts.
Sources
- World Health Organization — Guideline: Sugars intake for adults and children (2015)
- American Heart Association — Added sugars
- U.S. Food & Drug Administration — Added sugars on the Nutrition Facts label
This guide is for general information and isn’t medical advice.