I got a taste for sweets: soda producers began to massively remove sugar from drinks
Manufacturers began to massively remove sugar from non-diet soda. The reason is an additional increase in the excise tax after January 1 — from 7 to 10 rubles per liter. Ochakovsky has already reduced the number of calories from 35 to 20 per 100 ml, Dobry from 32 to 19, Cool Cola from 45 to 20, and Chernogolovka in lemonades to 20 calories, Izvestia found out. Business representatives recognize the change in production technologies, but at the same time note the trend of society towards healthy lifestyle and call the reduction of sugar logical. At the same time, nutritionists advise consumers not to abuse sweeteners.
Why manufacturers are abandoning sugar
Manufacturers have begun to massively remove sugar from non-diet soda, reducing the number of calories. Izvestia came to this conclusion after purchasing drinks from several large Russian companies. For example, the company IPBC Ochakovo Cool Cola, released in February this year, contains 45 calories per 100 ml, and in April there were only 20 left. The energy value of the kvass of the company with the same name "Ochakovo" has also decreased. So, a bottle released in April contains only 20 kcal, while in the Vkusvill hypermarket and the Samokat food delivery service it is sold with another 35 kcal.
The orange soda of the Dobry brand also began to lose its energy value. So, today you can buy two drinks with the same name, but with different characteristics, released at almost the same time. At the same time, one will have 19 kcal and 2.5% of orange juice, while the other will have 32 kcal and 3%.
The amount of sugar in Chernogolovka Group soda has also decreased recently. For example, the Cola drink purchased by Izvestia contains 19 kcal, while on marketplaces you can still find products with 40 kcal. The same can be said about the company's lemonades. So, the Baikal drink currently contains only 17 kcal, but on sale, for example, on Yandex Market, you can buy it with 40 kcal. The situation is similar with "Duchess" and "Mandarin" sodas.
Some changes in the formulations of soft drinks have indeed occurred in recent years, Alla Andreeva, General Director of the Union of Producers of Juices, Water and Beverages (Soyuznapitki), confirmed to Izvestia.
— The introduction of excise tax has affected the work of the industry, but companies are interested in maintaining demand for their products and are trying to curb the growth of selling prices. Even before the introduction of the excise tax, supporting the trend towards healthy lifestyle, manufacturers began to introduce new low—calorie products or sugar-free drinks to the market," she explained.
The excise tax on sugary soft drinks was introduced on July 1, 2023. At that time, it was 7 rubles per liter and was paid by manufacturers of beverages containing sugar, sugar syrup or honey if the amount of carbohydrates in their nutritional value is more than 5 g per 100 ml. At the same time, the volume fraction of ethyl alcohol in such beverages should not exceed 1.2%. According to the Ministry of Finance, an increase in excise duty is necessary to reduce sugar consumption by the population. Starting from January 1, 2025, the fee was increased to 10 rubles per liter.
According to Alla Andreeva, some of the drinks retain their usual sweetness in taste due to the use of traditional safe sweeteners. Some manufacturers have taken the path of directly reducing sugar in the composition of the drink, she noted.
— At the same time, full-sugar drinks are still available in stores, and anyone can buy such products. In a sense, a certain balance has been reached on the consumer shelf, and the buyer can choose the product that suits him best," said the general director of the union.
She drew attention to the fact that the use of sweeteners in kvass is prohibited, therefore, if the sugar in this drink is reduced, it will become slightly less sweet with more pronounced sour taste notes. Therefore, she recommended that the consumer carefully read the composition on the label.
An industry source told Izvestia that after the excise tax increase, some manufacturers felt that they were losing profitability, so they were forced to reduce sugar in drinks.
Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Finance with a request to comment on the situation with the reduction of sugar, as well as on a possible drop in excise tax revenues. The editorial board also addressed questions to the Association of Retail Companies with a request to comment on the situation with the sale of such soda.
How harmful are sugar substitutes in drinks?
Georgy Ostapkovich, Director of the Center for Market Research at the Higher School of Economics, believes that reducing sugar in drinks is logical.
— The reaction of the business is understandable. Entrepreneurs sometimes take impulsive actions in response to the measures of the authorities, which, apparently, was the increase in the excise tax. But I think we need to see how much this will be a long-term trend, because in the end, those who have more delicious and high-quality goods will still benefit. Therefore, manufacturers may well return to using sugar so that consumers do not turn away from them," the expert explained.
Everything that is allowed is safe, and the same applies to the composition of soda, Viktor Tutelyan, director of the Institute of Nutrition at the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and RAS, told Izvestia.
— If these sweeteners are allowed, then there is nothing wrong with using them. But at the same time, they contain foreign chemicals, the processing of which causes a certain burden for our body," the expert explained.
He also noted that if sweeteners are used involuntarily, for example, in diabetes and other diseases, this is quite justified, but the doctor advises young healthy people not to abuse these substances.
Added sugar should be consumed to a minimum, and it is better to exclude it altogether, recommends Larisa Gabdulkhakova, a nutritionist and nutritionist.
— If a person is healthy, it is better to choose a classic drink with sugar in small amounts. Perhaps the most harmful and cheapest sugar substitutes are aspartame and acesulfame. The first is a source of methanol, an excess of which is also associated with the appearance of autism," she explained to Izvestia.
The second one, acesulfame, is genotoxic, she says. It belongs to sulfonamides, which have antimicrobial activity and totally inhibit the vital activity of intestinal bacteria that are useful for us and for our immunity, she stressed.
Less harmful and more expensive sweeteners are stevia and trigalose, a mong fruit, the nutritionist explained, recommending carefully reading the manufacturers' labels.
In May 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the results of a study that analyzed 283 scientific papers on artificial sweeteners. In particular, such substances as saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, stevia and its derivatives were considered.
Scientists have concluded that at first they actually reduce calorie intake, body weight and body mass index (BMI). Most of these experiments lasted no more than three months. However, in longer-term experiments, the results were mixed. If sweeteners are consumed for two to three years or more, they can increase the risk of becoming overweight by 76% and developing diabetes by 23% (if people consumed drinks with sweeteners). Cardiovascular diseases are also 32% more likely to develop, and the risk of death from any disease, with the exception of cancer, increases by 10%.
As a result, WHO experts recommended avoiding the use of artificial sweeteners. They noted that different sugar substitutes can have different effects on people depending on gender, ethnicity, health status, and other factors.
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