Introduction
Non-nutritive sweetener (NNS) research often relies on exposing populations to, or measuring the intake of, alternatively sweetened beverages (ASBs) compared to sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs), in particular, soft drink (Toews et al., 2019). The aim of this study was to (1) investigate the patterns of NNS in the Australian food and beverage supply and (2) identify and compare patterns of NNS in beverage products in Australia, the USA and the UK.
Methods
Ingredients lists of food and beverage (FOOD/BEVERAGE) products available in an Australian supermarket chain were audited in 2018. Sections found to contain NNS in 2018 were re-audited in 2023. In 2024, a supermarket in Australia, the UK and the USA had beverages audited for NNS. NNS type, low energy sweetener (LES) and free sugar were recorded. International data were compared using Fisher’s exact test.
Results
All data excludes repeated products in different sizes.
42.54% of the 552 products containing NNS in Australia in 2023 were beverages. Stevia (n = 262) and sucralose (n = 160) were the most frequently used NNSs. 81.25% of food/beverage products contained LES and/or free sugars in conjunction with NNS.
39.81% of 1055 beverage products audited across the three countries contained NNS. Sucralose (n = 219) and acesulfame-K (n = 202) were the most common NNSs. The UK and USA had significantly higher rates of free sugars in beverages with NNS, (54.55%, p < 0.05; 62.37%, p < 0.001, respectively) in comparison to 40.17% of products in Australia.
Conclusion
It is important for NNS research to recognise (1) the presence of free sugars in beverages containing NNS and therefore a lack of dichotomy between ASBs and SSBs, (2) NNS beverages extend beyond soft drink, (3) NNS products extend beyond just beverages and (4) a variety of NNSs are used.