Some stores don’t have it? What other misunderstandings should be avoided? ,Why do some stores have signs indicating that Shanghai milk tea has been classified?

At the end of last month, Shanghai became the first city in the country to add Nutritional Choice labels to ready-made beverages. Nayuki's Tea, Bawang Chaji, Happy Lemon and other freshly made tea brands are conducting pilot projects under the guidance of the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention to add A, B, C, and D grade labels to their products, with the level of recommendation decreasing in order. Generally speaking, products belonging to the more recommended grades contain less non-dairy sugar, saturated fat, and trans fat. Among them, Grade A products are required not to contain non-sugar sweeteners.

More than half a month has passed. How has the market responded to beverage classification? What misunderstandings should be avoided when consuming?

Why do some stores have signs and others don’t?

According to rough statistics, there are hundreds of freshly made tea shops in the city participating in the pilot. However, some consumers have discovered that for the same brand, some stores have a logo on the product price list, while others do not.

The reporter saw at Naixue’s Tea Jing’an Wanxiang Tiandi store that most of the products carry nutrition selection labels of different colors. The store clerk explained that the nutritional content test results of individual products have not yet come out, so there are no labels for the time being; when the test results come out, labels will be added in accordance with regulations.

However, at the Changshou·Xuhuili store of the same brand, all products on the product price list do not have the Nutritional Choice logo. What's going on?

"This store happened to be the subject of the questionnaire survey." The relevant person in charge of the brand explained that among more than 100 stores in the city, more than 30 stores have not added nutrition selection labels for the time being. This is to cooperate with government departments in data collection, " To put it simply, it is to see whether the presence of signs will affect consumers’ choices. “After the recent survey is completed, all stores will add signs.

The person in charge also said that after adding nutritional choice labels, the sales proportion of A and B-level products increased by 23% compared with the past. "It shows that labels will indeed affect consumer choices, and the market welcomes healthier beverages. In fact, we also "We have received inquiries from consumers about why some stores do not have nutrition selection labels," she said. Although some stores do not have labels because they participate in differentiated comparisons, the online mini program lists the grades of different products and consumers can check them at any time.

It is understood that all pilot brands have some stores participating in differentiated comparisons. If consumers want to know the grading status of products in these stores, in addition to checking online, they can also consult with store staff.

“No added sugar” and “freshly squeezed” do not mean healthier

It should be noted that although the Nutrition Choice label can intuitively tell consumers which products are "more recommended", it does not mean that they can drink beverages freely.

On the one hand, even the A and B drinks with higher recommended levels may contain a certain amount of non-dairy sugar, saturated fat and trans fat. If you drink too much, you may still consume too much sugar and fat.

On the other hand, according to the current nutritional grading principles, beverages rated B, C, and D are allowed to contain non-sugar sweeteners such as sugar substitutes. Although they are not traditional sucrose or fructose, they can still cause blood sugar to rise and are not suitable for people suffering from diabetes, hyperglycemia and other diseases. Moreover, there is no essential difference between drinks containing sugar substitutes and sugar-sweetened drinks in causing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

In addition, pay attention to the health risks of various freshly squeezed and fresh fruit drinks.

According to Shanghai's grading principles, the final grade of a beverage is determined by the lowest grade of four ingredients, including non-dairy sugar, saturated fat, trans fat, and non-sugar sweeteners. For example, if a product is low in saturated fat and trans fat, and does not use non-sugar sweeteners, but has high non-dairy sugar content, it cannot become the most recommended Grade A product. ; If the non-dairy sugar content of this product is high, it may become a C-grade or even D-grade product.

This rating scale helps consumers fully understand the "sugar" in drinks. For example, a cup of freshly squeezed juice is usually squeezed from several fruits, and a large amount of sugar in the fruits is concentrated in the juice. These sugars are precisely non-dairy sugars. If you compare the classification principles implemented this time, you will find that the healthy-looking 100% freshly squeezed juice is not so healthy. To take an extreme example, the sugar content of grape juice is as high as 15%, which is even worse than the sugar content of cola.

Nutritional choice labels need to be both promoted and improved

It is understood that beverage classification has long been precedented in the international market. In December 2022, Singapore fully implemented a sugary beverage grading system, requiring manufacturers to print nutritional grades on packaged beverages sold, including four grades of A, B, C, and D, with decreasing healthiness; this grading system started at the end of last year Expanded to freshly squeezed juices and drinks made on site. The UK, France and many other places also have nutrition grade labels. Although the details of nutritional classification are different in different countries and regions, the core is to reduce blood sugar and fat.

From this perspective, in order to reduce sugar and fat, consumers should not only pay attention to the nutritional labeling of freshly made tea drinks, but also pay attention to the sugar content of bottled drinks. However, judging from the current market situation, there are still quite a few brands that have not yet joined the logo team, and bottled products with logos are even rarer.

It can be seen that beverage production companies need to take a step forward and label their products well.

Engineering Heng, an employee of a brand of ready-made tea drinks, said that although his brand has not yet affixed the nutritional choice label, the industry’s attitude towards the affixing of the label is generally positive. “Firstly, it can comply with the current consumer demand that emphasizes health; secondly, it can Promote industry reshuffle. Take freshly made tea drinks as an example. From the initial comparison of price and taste to the current comparison of price and taste, more and more raw materials and nutrition are beginning to be disclosed. The emergence of nutrition choice labels means that consumers can have a more comprehensive understanding of products, which requires companies to continuously optimize formulas and provide corresponding solutions.”

But he also admitted that there are certain difficulties in fully implementing nutrition choice labeling. “At present, Shanghai has a grading principle, and it will be smoother to implement it in Shanghai’s freshly made tea shops; but freshly made tea shops in other cities, as well as nationwide distribution There is no unified standard for how to classify bottled drinks.”

Industry insiders also reminded that attention should be paid to the accuracy of markings. For example, among products with labels, if you choose products with the same flavor but with different sugar contents, there will be differences in grades. Products with less sugar are more recommended; but in the case of the same taste, the same sugar content but different cup shapes, the grade will be different. But consistent. In fact, many brands’ large-cup products are 30% more expensive than medium-cup products. Is this labeling accurate?

In short, further improving classification, labeling and publicity will help guide consumers to choose beverages scientifically.