1 in 3 Indian soft drinks list a non-sugar sweetener
Non-sugar sweeteners are common in Indian soft drinks but rare in other foods. Many still have sugar listed too.
How to check a pack yourself
- Look for sweetener names. Turn the pack over and read the ingredient list. If it says sucralose, acesulfame, aspartame, saccharin or stevia, a non-sugar sweetener is in the drink.
- Check for FSSAI statements. Look for a rectangular box with the words 'This contains (name of the sweetener)'. This is required for every non-sugar sweetener. Some sweeteners also require warnings like 'Not recommended for children' or 'Not recommended for phenylketonurics'.
- Read the sugar line. Look at the nutrition table on the pack. Even if a sweetener is listed, the drink may also have sugar. Check the 'sugar' line for how much.
Quick answers
Does diet or zero on the pack mean no sugar?
No. Some packs with these names still list sugar in the ingredient list. Of the 72 packs named diet, zero or sugar free, 21 list a non-sugar sweetener, and 21 still list an added sugar.
Which sweeteners do Indian drinks use?
Indian soft drinks most often name sucralose, acesulfame K, steviol glycosides (stevia) and aspartame. Of the 44 Indian soft drinks with a non-sugar sweetener, 27 name sucralose, 18 name acesulfame K, 15 name steviol glycosides and 5 name aspartame.
How does India compare with the UK and the US?
India has a 32% rate of non-sugar sweeteners in soft drinks, which is about half the UK's 64% and a little under the US's 36%. In the UK, acesulfame K and sucralose are most common.
What must the pack print under FSSAI's rule?
Every pack with a non-sugar sweetener must have a rectangular box with 'This contains (name of the sweetener)'. Some sweeteners also require warnings like 'Not recommended for children' or 'Not recommended for phenylketonurics'. Packs with non-caloric sweeteners must say 'CONTAIN NON-CALORIC SWEETENER'.
What did the World Health Organization say in 2023?
In May 2023, the World Health Organization made a conditional recommendation against using non-sugar sweeteners to control body weight or to cut the risk of noncommunicable diseases. It lists acesulfame K, aspartame, sucralose and stevia as non-sugar sweeteners, and says polyols are not non-sugar sweeteners.
Every measure
| Measure | Share of labels | Lists |
|---|---|---|
| Indian soft drinks with sweetener | 32% | 44 of 139 |
| UK soft drinks with sweetener | 64% | 591 of 927 |
| US soft drinks with sweetener | 36% | 2,490 of 6,941 |
| Indian drinks with sugar and sweetener | 14% | 20 of 139 |
| Packs named diet or zero with a non-sugar sweetener | 29% | 21 of 72 |
How I did it
I read the ingredient lists of 4,647 Indian packaged foods from Open Food Facts, which are entered by volunteers. I counted non-sugar sweeteners by looking for their names and INS/E numbers. Added sugar was counted by looking for names like sugar, glucose and honey. The numbers are small outside soft drinks, so the shares are rough. No brands are named. Polyols are counted separately, as the World Health Organization does. The lists are not a random sample, so the findings may not be fully representative.
Where this comes from
- WHO advises not to use non-sugar sweeteners for weight control in newly released guideline (15 May 2023)
- Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 (FSSAI compendium)
- Open Food Facts
What this can't tell you
- The lists come from Open Food Facts, entered by volunteers, so they are not a random sample.
- Numbers are small outside soft drinks, so shares are rough.
- A sweetener on the list says nothing about how much; the study counts packs, not amounts.
- No brands are named.
- Polyols are counted apart from non-sugar sweeteners, as the World Health Organization does.
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 (sweeteners.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.
Part of the India Label Index 2026.
Narsinghani, D. (2026). Sweetener use in Indian soft drinks. India Label Index 2026. https://devnarsinghani22.github.io/india-label-index/sweeteners/. Data from Open Food Facts (ODbL). DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23245061.