About
What it is and where it shows up.
Sucrose is a naturally occurring disaccharide (C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁) composed of glucose and fructose, derived commercially from sugar cane or sugar beet, and used ubiquitously as a sweetener, preservative, and energy source in foods and beverages. Unlike synthetic sweeteners, sucrose is not classified as a food additive in major jurisdictions but as a common food ingredient.
Safety summary
The regulatory and scientific consensus.
Sucrose is safe in moderate amounts and carries no acute toxicity concern, but WHO strongly links excess free sugar consumption to overweight, obesity, dental caries, and noncommunicable diseases. WHO recommends limiting free sugar intake to less than 10% of total daily energy (ideally below 5%, roughly 25 g per day). Individuals with diabetes, metabolic syndrome, or existing dental disease face heightened risk from habitual high sugar intake.
Regulatory landscape
What food-safety regulators have decided.
| Jurisdiction | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| FSANZ (Food Standards Australia New Zealand) (Australia) | Approved | Sucrose is approved as a standard food ingredient under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code; it is not listed as a food additive and carries no maximum use level or ADI.source |
| Health Canada (Canada) | Approved | Sucrose is a standard food ingredient under Canadian food regulations. It is not subject to food additive pre-market approval requirements. Health Canada aligns with WHO guidance recommending limits on free sugar intake.source |
| EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) (European Union) | Approved | Under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, monosaccharides, disaccharides and oligosaccharides — including sucrose — are explicitly excluded from the legal definition of food additives and sweeteners. No E number is assigned. Sucrose is regulated as a standard food ingredient with no maximum use level. Added sugars intake in some EU Member States, especially in children, exceeds the WHO 10% total energy threshold.source |
| FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) (India) | Approved | Sugar (sucrose) is permitted as a common food ingredient under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011. No specific food additive status or ADI is required.source |
Who should approach with care
Whose guidance would steer them away.
Diabetes — Sucrose is rapidly hydrolysed to glucose and fructose, causing sharp postprandial blood glucose spikes that are particularly hazardous for individuals with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and impaired insulin regulation.
Children — WHO highlights that free sugar intake is strongly associated with dental caries, and children with developing dentition and relatively higher sugar intake are disproportionately vulnerable; WHO recommends restricting children's free sugar intake to below 10% of total daily energy.
Obesity — Systematic review evidence (Te Morenga et al., BMJ 2013) shows that increasing free sugar intake produces parallel increases in body weight through excess energy intake, making high sucrose consumption a direct risk factor for overweight and obesity.
Heart Disease — High free sugar consumption has been associated with elevated triglycerides, blood pressure, and cardiometabolic risk through obesity-mediated and direct metabolic pathways noted in WHO-referenced evidence reviews.
Research citations
The sources behind this verdict.
- 1PubMed. Current WHO recommendation to reduce free sugar intake from all sources to below 10% of daily energy intake for supporting overall health is not well supported by available evidence, 2022. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- 2WHO. Guideline: Sugars Intake for Adults and Children, 2015. who.int
- 3WHO. Reducing free sugars intake in adults to reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases — WHO ELENA, 2015. who.int
- 4PubMed. Dietary sugars and body weight: systematic review and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials and cohort studies, 2013. bmj.com
- 5EFSA. Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on Food Additives, 2008. eur-lex.europa.eu
Independently researched5 citations