Monitoring of Total Sugar Contents in Processed Foods and Noncommercial Foodservice Foods

In this study, HPLC was used to determine the total sugar contents of processed foods as well as main and side dishes that were acquired from noncommercial foodservices. The total sugar content was identified as the total amount of both mono- and di-saccharides according to the nutritional information standard defined by the Korea Food and Drug Administration. The results for the processed foods were as follows: 25.3±9.5% for biscuits, 11.7±10.6% for snacks, 29.9 ±17.7% for chocolate, 35.5±9.3% for processed chocolate products, 11.0±2.7% for fruit juice, 10.0±3.6% for carbonated beverages, 23.0±3.2% for ice cream, 24.5±3.2% for ice milk, and 11.4±2.6% for stirred yogurt. Overall, candy items had relatively higher total sugar contents (71.1±19.3%) than any other items. Foods in the school zone had 52.3±24.4% total sugars. The noncommercial foodservice foods were classified into 5 main dish categories and 12 side dish categories. The total sugar contents of the main dishes were 2.6±1.9% for cooked rice with seasoning, and 4.7±0.1% for spaghetti. Among the side dishes, hard boiled foods and stir-fried foods contained the highest amounts of sugar, which were dependent on the main ingredients in the foods. Other side dishes with high sugar contents included seasoned vegetables/dried fish/ seaweed (5.5±5.3%), salads (5.6±3.1%), and kimchies (5.7±4.1%). The total sugar contents of the side dishes ranged widely, and were significantly different according to main ingredients, cooking method, and amount of spice.