Indian packs list sugar in first 3 ingredients 42% vs UK 30%
The median Indian biscuit, cereal, chocolate or yoghurt pack carries the same sugar as or less than the British one, but India stands out on where the sugar sits, on sweetened soft drinks and on salt in chips.
How to check a pack yourself
- Check the first 3 ingredients. If sugar (like glucose, invert syrup, or honey) is in the first 3 ingredients, it is a main ingredient in the pack.
- Read sugar in soft drinks. Look at the sugar per 100 ml. 10 g per 100 ml is about 2 and a half teaspoons in every 100 ml.
- Compare salt in chips. Look at the salt per 100 g. British chips have a median of 1.2 g, and Indian chips have a median of 1.7 g.
Quick answers
Why do Indian soft drinks carry more sugar?
Fewer Indian soft drinks are zero-sugar (11% of 38 packs) compared to the UK (35% of 718 packs). Also, sweetened Indian soft drinks have more sugar, 10.6 g per 100 ml (34 packs) compared to 4.6 g per 100 ml in the UK (466 packs).
Is Indian packaged food sweeter than British food?
On biscuits, breakfast cereals, chocolate and yoghurt, the median Indian pack carries the same sugar as or less than the British one. The exception is sweetened soft drinks, where Indian packs have 10.6 g per 100 ml (34 packs) compared to 4.6 g per 100 ml in the UK (466 packs).
Where does the sugar sit in the list?
In India, 42% (1,679 of 3,964) of packs list sugar in the first 3 ingredients, compared to 30% (16,463 of 54,616) in the UK and 34% (140,163 of 410,549) in the US. Any added sugar is also found in 60% (2,378 of 3,964) of Indian packs and 60% (32,738 of 54,616) of UK packs.
Do Indian chips carry more salt?
Yes, Indian chips have more salt than British chips. The median salt in Indian chips is 1.7 g per 100 g (54 of 286), while the median in British chips is 1.2 g per 100 g.
How were the categories matched across countries?
The same Open Food Facts category tags were used in every country. Powders, syrups, mixes, and coatings were removed by tag. Values above the category cap or above the pack's own energy were dropped. Each barcode counts once, and a pack sold in two countries counts in both.
Every measure
| Measure | India | UK | US | France | Germany | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| share of lists with sugar in first 3 ingredients | 42% (1,679 of 3,964) | 30% (16,463 of 54,616) | 34% (140,163 of 410,549) | 33% (4,266 of 12,977) | ||
| median sugar in biscuits per 100 g | 25.0 g (87 of 711) | 28.0 g (1,972 of 2,162) | 28.0 g (1,311 of 12,105) | 29.0 g (18,448 of 20,051) | 31.0 g (3,302 of 3,443) | 32.5 g (169 of 427) |
| median sugar in sweetened soft drinks per 100 ml | 10.6 g (34) | 4.6 g (466) | 10.3 g (341) | 8.2 g (3,059) | 7.9 g (1,740) | 7.8 g (35) |
| median salt in chips per 100 g | 1.7 g (54 of 286) | 1.2 g (1,714 of 1,950) | 1.3 g (1,006 of 4,221) | 1.3 g (5,545 of 5,929) | 1.5 g (1,789 of 1,922) | 1.1 g (111 of 344) |
| share of lists with 2 or more sugar names | 19% (772 of 3,964) | 27% (14,517 of 54,616) | 28% (116,103 of 410,549) | 23% (2,985 of 12,977) |
| Category | India | UK | US | France | Germany | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biscuits: g sugar (median) per 100 g | 25.0 g (87 of 711) | 28.0 g (1,972 of 2,162) | 28.0 g (1,311 of 12,105) | 29.0 g (18,448 of 20,051) | 31.0 g (3,302 of 3,443) | 32.5 g (169 of 427) |
| Breakfast cereals: g sugar (median) per 100 g | 10.5 g (57 of 254) | 14.2 g (1,690 of 1,826) | 20.0 g (3,399 of 3,632) | 17.0 g (6,749 of 7,303) | 14.0 g (3,241 of 3,363) | 14.7 g (157 of 504) |
| Chocolate: g sugar (median) per 100 g | 43.6 g (36 of 197) | 45.0 g (1,446 of 1,579) | 43.5 g (463 of 1,402) | 44.4 g (12,604 of 13,590) | 47.0 g (3,753 of 3,921) | 48.0 g (169 of 412) |
| Yoghurt: g sugar (median) per 100 g | 5.2 g (88 of 135) | 8.0 g (1,296 of 1,432) | 9.4 g (6,011 of 6,197) | 11.0 g (8,477 of 9,519) | 11.3 g (2,864 of 3,038) | 6.7 g (418 of 446) |
| Soft drinks: g sugar (median) per 100 ml | 10.6 g (38 of 144) | 3.9 g (718 of 818) | 8.8 g (443 of 6,165) | 7.4 g (3,790 of 4,246) | 7.0 g (2,123 of 2,311) | 7.1 g (48 of 240) |
| Chips: g salt (median) per 100 g | 1.7 g (54 of 286) | 1.2 g (1,714 of 1,950) | 1.3 g (1,006 of 4,221) | 1.3 g (5,545 of 5,929) | 1.5 g (1,789 of 1,922) | 1.1 g (111 of 344) |
How I did it
The base is Open Food Facts, one snapshot read on 6 Oct 2026, covering 16 countries. Comparison countries include the UK, US, France, Germany, and Australia. Data comes from volunteers, so it is not a random sample of any country's shelves. A number is only used when at least 20 packs support it. Indian counts are smaller compared to the UK and US, so read them as rough. Medians are per 100 g, or per 100 ml for soft drinks, as entered on Open Food Facts. No brands are named. Same category tags were used in every country, and packs with incorrect tags or extreme values were excluded. Salt values were converted from sodium when only sodium was listed. Instant noodles, ketchup, cakes, ice cream, flavoured milk and namkeen had too few Indian packs with a sugar value to compare, so they are in the data file but not on the page.
What this can't tell you
- The lists come from Open Food Facts, entered by volunteers, so they are not a random sample of any country's shelves.
- A number is only used when at least 20 packs stand behind it.
- The Indian counts are small next to the UK's and the US's, so read India's numbers as rough.
- Medians are per 100 g, or per 100 ml for soft drinks, as entered on Open Food Facts.
- No brands are named.
Data and code
- Every number on this page with the count behind it (CSV) and the full results (JSON)
- Code: https://github.com/devnarsinghani22/india-label-index (sugar_world.py)
- Licence: the data comes from Open Food Facts under the Open Database License. You can reuse these numbers with credit to Open Food Facts and this page.
See also India vs the world. Part of the India Label Index 2026.
Narsinghani, D. (2026). Sugar and salt in Indian and other countries' packaged food. India Label Index 2026. https://devnarsinghani22.github.io/india-label-index/sugar-salt-world/. Data from Open Food Facts (ODbL). DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23245061.