Label reading
Added sugars on the label: how honey, syrups and dates are counted
Key takeaways
- FDA defines added sugars to include table sugar, syrups and honey, and sugars from concentrated fruit or vegetable juice.
- Whole fruit, dried fruit and fruit pastes or purees not made from juice are presumed to have no added sugar.
- A jar of pure honey or maple syrup shows added sugars as a percent Daily Value, marked with a † and a footnote, because nothing was added to the honey itself.
- The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines suggest no more than 10 g of added sugars per meal.
What counts as an added sugar
Since the Nutrition Facts label was revised in 2016, U.S. packaged foods list Total Sugars and, beneath it, Includes Xg Added Sugars. FDA defines added sugars as sugars that are added during processing or packaged as such. That includes:
- table sugar, brown sugar and other sugars;
- syrups, such as maple, corn, agave and date syrup;
- honey;
- sugars from concentrated fruit or vegetable juice beyond what the same volume of 100% juice would contain.
FDA presumes these have no added sugar: whole fruit, fruit pieces, dried fruit, single-strength juice, and fruit or vegetable purees, pastes and powders that are not made from juice. That is why dates eaten whole, or blended into date paste, are not added sugar.
Why a jar of pure honey shows a † symbol
A jar of pure honey has nothing added to it, but the honey adds sugar to whatever you put it on. FDA's 2019 guidance settles this: single-ingredient honey, maple syrup and sugar packages must still show the added sugars % Daily Value. Instead of the "Includes Xg Added Sugars" line, they may place a † after the % DV, with a footnote saying how many grams of sugar one serving adds to your diet.
So the † does not mean someone mixed something into the honey. It means the honey itself is the sugar you are adding.
Reading the label in practice
- Check the serving size first. Honey is usually listed per tablespoon (21 g), with about 17 g of sugars.
- Look at Added Sugars, not just Total Sugars. A yogurt with fruit may have high total sugars but few added sugars, or the other way around.
- Use the % Daily Value. The current Daily Value for added sugars is 50 g; 5% DV or less per serving is low, and 20% or more is high.
- Read the ingredients. Honey, syrups, cane sugar, dextrose and juice concentrates are all forms of added sugar.
- Apply the 10 g per meal guideline. The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines suggest a meal contain no more than 10 g of added sugars.
Common label claims, decoded
| On the package | What it means |
|---|---|
| No sugar added | No sugars or sugar-containing ingredients were added. Natural sugars can still be present. |
| Sweetened with honey | Honey is still an added sugar. Check the grams. |
| Naturally sweetened | Not a regulated term. Read Added Sugars and the ingredient list. |
| Raw (honey) | Not defined by FDA. Usually means strained, not heated or ultra-filtered. |
| Product of USA | The country where the honey was produced. Imported packed honey must state its country of origin. |
How we label our products
Every Miracle Honey jar and pouch names the state where the food was grown and carries a lot code you can trace online. Our dates, nuts and dried fruit have nothing added, so their sugars are naturally occurring.
Questions
Why does pure honey list added sugars if nothing was added?
Because honey adds sugar to your diet when you use it. FDA lets single-ingredient honey and syrups mark the added sugars % Daily Value with a † symbol and explain in a footnote how much sugar one serving adds, so the label stays truthful.
Are the sugars in dates added sugars?
Not when you eat whole or dried dates, or a paste made from them. Date syrup and date sugar sold as sweeteners count as added sugars.
Is fruit juice concentrate an added sugar?
Sugars from concentrated fruit or vegetable juice count as added sugars when they go beyond what the same volume of 100% juice would contain, with a few exceptions such as 100% juice sold to consumers.
What does 'no sugar added' mean?
No sugars or sugar-containing ingredients were added during processing. The food can still contain naturally occurring sugars, so check Total Sugars.
Sources
- Guidance for Industry: Declaration of Added Sugars on Honey, Maple Syrup, Other Single-Ingredient Sugars and Syrups, and Certain Cranberry Products (June 2019) · U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Food Labeling: Revision of the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels, final rule (81 FR 33742, May 27, 2016) · Federal Register
- Added Sugars on the Nutrition Facts Label · U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030 · U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and USDA
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025–2030: summary of recommendations · American Academy of Family Physicians
We use government, scientific and industry sources and update this guide when they change. Read our editorial policy. This guide is general information, not medical advice.