Credit score: Pixabay/CC0 Public Area
South Africa is dealing with a pointy rise in obesity-related ailments like sort 2 diabetes. Between 2010 and 2019, the prevalence of diabetes practically tripled from 4.5% to 12.7%. This enhance is linked to way of life danger elements together with ingesting sugary drinks, consuming unhealthy meals, and never getting sufficient bodily exercise.
To assist sort out the issue, the federal government has launched a number of public well being measures concentrating on key danger elements, together with unhealthy consuming.
Some of the outstanding measures was the introduction of a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks in 2018. The tax targets added sugars, encouraging producers to reformulate merchandise like smooth drinks and power drinks to cut back their sugar content material. However drinks containing naturally occurring sugars, resembling 100% fruit juices, are exempt.
Typically, 100% fruit juices are seen as more healthy options to sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened drinks. However rising analysis exhibits this might not be true. A 2023 meta-analysis of 72 revealed research involving over 3 million individuals discovered that ingesting fruit juice doesn’t decrease the chance of sort 2 diabetes or hypertension. It was as a substitute linked to the next danger of dying from cardiovascular ailments.
The advice from that meta-analysis and different research is that fruit juices shouldn’t be thought-about a more healthy various to sugar-sweetened drinks. This could possibly be as a result of, though fruit juices include extra nutritional vitamins and minerals than smooth drinks, they’re additionally excessive in pure sugars and lack the fiber present in entire fruits, which helps management blood sugar and retains you feeling full.
In an additional transfer to curb sugar consumption in drinks the federal government has proposed new meals labeling rules. These would require front-of-package warning labels for merchandise excessive in added sugar, saturated fats, sodium, or synthetic sweeteners. The rules are nonetheless beneath evaluation. However they align with worldwide greatest practices adopted by nations like Chile, Mexico and Brazil.
If applied successfully, they might assist South African shoppers make extra knowledgeable dietary selections.
However, as soon as once more, fruit juices are getting a free journey. That is although they’ve the best power (energy) and sugar content material (8.4%) throughout a variety of sentimental and power drinks, based on our current research.
As researchers in public well being vitamin, we’re involved that the rules had some necessary gaps. The proposed rules introduce a easy bundle warning label system for prepacked meals that include added sugar, saturated fats, or sodium and exceed particular nutrient thresholds. It additionally requires warning labels for merchandise containing synthetic sweeteners, reflecting rising considerations about their long-term well being results.
However the rules exclude sure sugar-containing drinks from front-of-pack warning label necessities, notably these with naturally occurring sugars. Many juices, resembling 100% fruit juices, are exempt regardless of their excessive sugar content material and vital contribution to general sugar and power consumption. This raises considerations in regards to the consistency of the coverage and whether or not it adequately addresses the well being dangers related to extreme sugar consumption throughout all forms of drinks.
To check the size of the issue, we analyzed greater than 600 non-alcoholic drinks bought in main South African supermarkets. The research discovered that 21.4% of drinks would require a warning for top sugar, 49.8% for synthetic sweeteners, and 58.7% for no less than considered one of these standards.
Juices had been least prone to qualify for warning labels. Solely 30% of juices met the factors , versus 94.1% of sentimental drinks and 96.9% of power drinks. Excluding 100% fruit juices from South Africa’s proposed warning label rules might have severe public well being penalties.
We advocate that the well being division revise the factors for warning labels to incorporate drinks which might be excessive in naturally occurring sugars.
Fruit juices
Fruit juices are sometimes seen as a more healthy alternative due to their pure origin. In South Africa, common consumption of 100% fruit juice is widespread, with many shoppers perceiving it as helpful regardless of its excessive sugar content material.
It is a downside for a lot of causes.
Due to their excessive sugar content material, fruit juices may cause sharp spikes in blood glucose. For greater than 2.3 million South Africans dwelling with diabetes common consumption could intervene with blood glucose management. However this isn’t solely a priority for individuals with diabetes. Analysis exhibits that even amongst non-diabetics, frequent consumption of fruit juice will increase weight acquire, and the chance of creating sort 2 diabetes over time.
Labeling insurance policies that ignore naturally occurring sugars dangers deceptive shoppers. Particularly, it misleads these attempting to make more healthy selections into over-consuming these merchandise. Worldwide examples, resembling Chile’s method to meals labeling, present that together with complete sugar content material in warning standards can cut back purchases of high-sugar objects and enhance public consciousness.
Exempting juices additionally creates an uneven taking part in discipline. Whereas smooth drink and power drink producers are pushed to reformulate merchandise to keep away from taxes and warning labels, juice producers face no such stress, regardless of providing merchandise with comparable well being dangers.
We additionally demonstrated that just about half of the drinks analyzed contained synthetic sweeteners, that are more and more used to decrease sugar content material and bypass the sugar tax. Rising analysis suggests these components could negatively have an effect on intestine well being and contribute to nutrition-related ailments. Taken collectively, these elements spotlight the necessity for complete regulation that displays the total spectrum of well being dangers posed by sugary drinks.
Subsequent steps
South Africa’s efforts to manage sugary drinks are commendable and replicate a rising dedication to tackling lifestyle-related ailments. However excluding fruit juices from key insurance policies dangers undermining these efforts.
By aligning rules with scientific proof and worldwide greatest practices, the nation can take a extra complete method to sugar discount. This method will shield all shoppers, particularly essentially the most weak.
To make sure that South Africa’s meals labeling rules obtain their meant public well being outcomes, we advocate the next steps.
Embody naturally occurring sugars: Revise the factors for warning labels to account for complete sugar content material, not simply added sugars. This is able to make sure that high-sugar juices are appropriately labeled, and shoppers are totally knowledgeable.
Prolong the sugar tax: Contemplate making use of the sugar tax to fruit juices with excessive sugar content material. This is able to encourage producers to discover lower-sugar formulations.
Public schooling campaigns: Launch focused schooling initiatives to lift consciousness in regards to the well being dangers related to all forms of sugar, together with these present in fruit juices.
Ongoing monitoring: Set up methods to watch the affect of each labeling and taxation insurance policies on shopper habits and well being outcomes, permitting for evidence-based changes over time.
Supplied by
The Dialog
This text is republished from The Dialog beneath a Inventive Commons license. Learn the unique article.
Quotation:
Fruit juices in South Africa getting a free journey: Why they need to have the identical well being warning labels as fizzy drinks (2025, October 15)
retrieved 15 October 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/information/2025-10-fruit-juices-south-africa-free.html
This doc is topic to copyright. Aside from any truthful dealing for the aim of personal research or analysis, no
half could also be reproduced with out the written permission. The content material is offered for info functions solely.
