Flavouring, juice or sweetener – what’s really in it?
Flavouring, juice or sweetener? Which types of drink contain sugar, what ‘no sugar’ means, and how to find drinks without sugar or sweetener.
Goes well with: Varieties with flavour Where to buy
Many drinks are labelled ‘sugar-free’, ‘no sugar’ or ‘zero’. However, drinks containing neither sugar nor sweetener are still rare. The reason lies in where a drink gets its flavour and sweetness from: sugar, juice, sweetener – or simply flavouring. This page categorises drink types by their ingredients, not by brand.
A comparison of different types of drinks
| Type of drink | What gives it its flavour | Sugar | sweetener |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lemonade | Flavouring or extract, plus ingredients to add sweetness | Yes, except where the calorific value has been reduced | possible (reduced calorific value) |
| Fruit juice drink | Fruit juice: 6 per cent (citrus) to 30 per cent (pome fruit) | Yes, from the juice, often as well | possible |
| Fruit spritzer | Fruit juice (at least the equivalent of nectar), water, carbon dioxide | Yes, from the juice | not common |
| Flavoured water with juice | usually 5–10 per cent fruit juice | Yes, from the juice | possible |
| Zero/Light drink | Flavouring, sweetener | no | yes |
| Water with flavouring only | Flavour, often acidity | no | no |
Only the last line contains no sugar and no sweetener. It tastes fruity, but not sweet.
Is there any lemonade with no sugar or sweetener?
According to the guidelines for soft drinks, not really: a lemonade is defined there as containing at least flavouring, water and ‘ingredients to achieve a sweet taste (e.g. sugars, sweeteners)’. In the case of low-calorie lemonades, the sugar may be replaced wholly or partly by sweeteners. The Food Codex Commission abolished the previous minimum sugar content of 7 per cent in 2024. A drink with no sweetness at all is therefore not a lemonade within the meaning of the guidelines, but a different type of soft drink.
‘No sugar’ does not mean ‘sugar-free’
Drinks containing fruit juice contain the fruit’s natural sugars, even if no sugar has been added. The guidelines state this explicitly for fizzy drinks: the total sugar content consists of the sugars from the fruit ingredients and the added sugar. A glance at the nutrition facts table (‘of which sugars’) shows exactly how much this is. By way of comparison: according to the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Advice Centre, sweetened soft drinks in cans contain between 4.3 and 11 grams of sugar per 100 millilitres.
The WHO recommends reducing free sugars to less than 10 per cent of daily energy intake; it explicitly includes the sugar in fruit juices among these free sugars.
Spotting sweeteners in the list of ingredients
Sweeteners are listed in the ingredients list by name or E number. The Consumer Advice Centre distinguishes between sweeteners such as sucralose, acesulfame K and steviol glycosides, and sugar substitutes such as erythritol. You can find out how the individual substances are rated in our overview of sweeteners; to find out how to read the full list, see ‘Reading the ingredients list’.
Flavour: Taste without sweetness
Flavouring provides the fruity note, but contains neither sugar nor sweetness. The labelling is important: ‘natural grapefruit flavouring’ must consist of at least 95 per cent grapefruit, whilst ‘natural flavouring’ does not specify the source. Read more about this in the article ‘Natural Flavourings’.
Our three flavoured varieties are listed in the bottom row of the table: water, carbon dioxide, citric acid and natural flavouring (source stated), 1 kcal per 100 millilitres – Pink Grapefruit, Lime & Mint and Citrus. ‘Flavoured Water’ explains what else flavoured water can be.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which drinks contain no sugar or sweetener?
Water, unsweetened tea and drinks that derive their flavour solely from flavourings. As soon as juice, sugar or sweeteners appear in the list of ingredients, the drink is no longer free of sugar and sweeteners.
Does ‘no added sugar’ mean sugar-free?
No. It simply means that no sugar has been added. If the product contains juice, it also contains fructose. The key figure is the ‘of which sugars’ line in the nutrition facts table.
Why don’t drinks without sweetener taste sweet?
Because the sweetness comes solely from sugar or sweeteners. The flavour and acidity give it a fruity, fresh note that is more reminiscent of water with lemon than of lemonade.
Can a drink without any sweetener be called ‘lemonade’?
According to the guidelines for soft drinks, a lemonade contains ingredients that give it a sweet taste. A drink containing only flavouring is therefore a different type of soft drink.
Does fruit spritzer contain less sugar than lemonade?
That depends on the juice content. Fruit spritzers contain at least as much juice as a fruit nectar – and therefore the same amount of fructose. The nutritional table shows the difference.
Sources
- German Food Codex Commission: Guidelines for Soft Drinks, revised version of 10 April 2024 (BAnz AT 16 May 2024 B3), 10 April 24. deutsche-lebensmittelbuch-kommission.de
- Consumer Service Bavaria: Fruit-flavoured mineral water, 18 August 25. vis.bayern.de
- Lebensmittel Praxis: Sugar debate – minimum sugar content for soft drinks scrapped, 28 May 24. lebensmittelpraxis.de
- NRW Consumer Advice Centre: Soft drinks – a sugar trap, 30 July 26. verbraucherzentrale.nrw
- WHO: WHO calls on countries to reduce sugar intake among adults and children, 4 March 2015. who.int
- Consumer Advice Centre: Sweeteners: What are sweeteners and sugar substitutes?, 26 June 25. verbraucherzentrale.de
- Food Clarity (Federal Association of Consumer Organisations): Extract or natural flavouring – what the differences are, 11 September 26. lebensmittelklarheit.de
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