23. What is the difference between sugar free products and no sugar added (NSA) products?
No sugar added products are actually what you used to called sugar free products. A number of years ago the FDA came out with a rule that said even if you use an artificial sweetener, it was still technically “sugar” because of the sugar alcohols and therefore you could not say sugar free; rather, you did not directly add sugar, hence no sugar added (NSA). Originally, all of these products were specifically designed for diabetics and others who could not have sugar. More recently, their popularity has risen because of low carb dieting. If you see similar products out there that say sugar free, technically they are in error. This is especially true if they have dairy, since dairy has lactose which is milk sugar. That is another reason why the government came out with the new rules.