In recent years, added sugars have come under increased scrutiny from nutrition activists, and for good reason. According to the Mayo Clinic (http://dtn.fm/hU92i), added sugars, which are introduced to foods during processing, can play a major role in a variety of potential health problems, including poor nutrition, weight gain, increased triglycerides and tooth decay. As a result, dietary guidelines continually warn of the dangers of overconsumption of sugar. The American Heart Association (http://dtn.fm/5AfAf), for example, suggests consuming no more than 100 calories a day from added sugars for most women and no more than 150 calories a day for most men. To put those restrictions into perspective, a single teaspoon of sugar has about 16 calories.
Navigating the grocery aisle to find products that support moderate sugar consumption can be difficult. After all, a 12-ounce soft drink can feature about 160 calories of sugar. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that the majority of U.S. adults exceed their recommended daily allowances of sugar. To this point, uncovering added sugars in products has remained a frustrating and confusing ordeal. Late last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took a major step toward improving this issue through the release of a ‘new look’ Nutrition Facts label that places more attention on calories and added sugars (http://dtn.fm/5P2oo).
“You will no longer need a microscope, a calculator, or a degree in nutrition to figure out whether the food you’re buying is actually good for our kids,” First Lady Michelle Obama stated at a conference announcing the new rules.
Though these changes are a step in the right direction, they also highlight the relatively slow speed at which these updates take place. Not only has the current nutrition label stood unmodified for more than 20 years, it took more than two years for the FDA to agree upon the updated design, which was originally developed back in 2014. Furthermore, large-scale food and beverage manufacturers now have more than two years to implement the changes on their products, with manufacturers totaling less than $10 million in annual food sales receiving an additional year to comply. Luckily for consumers in search of a better way to uncover the sugar content of their favorite products, one company is ahead of the game.
Content Checked Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: CNCK), the company behind a family of mobile apps for individuals with specific dietary requirements and preferences, is taking aim at added sugars with its app SugarChecked. With a sizable database including more than 70 percent of all food products in the United States, SugarChecked helps users quickly uncover potentially unwanted ingredients such as added sugars, artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols and natural low-calorie sweeteners. When a product contains an undesirable amount of these ingredients, the SugarChecked app suggests suitable and related alternatives.
“Sugar intake in America has increased dramatically over the past few decades at the expense of our health,” Tory Tedrow, RD, CNSC, stated on the Content Checked blog (http://dtn.fm/7lyeY). “Now that the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans has recommended limiting sugar intake to <10% of your total calorie intake, it is even more important for consumers to be aware of the sources of sugar in our diets, why it’s so bad, and ways to decrease sugar intake.”
As the FDA turns its focus toward excess sugar, Content Checked is positioned ahead of the game with its innovative suite of mobile apps. With recent coverage in a variety of high-profile media and food allergy and intolerance publications and outlets – including Forbes, USA Today, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, among others – the company appears to be primed to build on its recent growth in the $13 billion food allergy and intolerances market in the months to come.
For more information, visit www.contentchecked.com
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