TOPIC (Testing of Products Initiated by Consumers) is a consumer-led organisation funded by consumers and retailers who are committed to transparency. We use laboratory testing, farm and factory visits and any other means necessary to verify that ingredients and label claims are accurate.
Top consumer nominated label claim
GUDGU cordials was the next most nominated product by consumers after TOPIC’s investigation into Pick n Pay’s free range eggs.
The TOPIC SA team launched its 12th investigation, this time to verify whether the GUDGU sugar free range of cordials was truly free of sugar, as the labels claim.
What is sugar?
Sugar is an umbrella term for many types of sweet-tasting, caloric, soluble, simple carbohydrates. Glucose, fructose, galactose, lactose, maltose and trehalose are all naturally occurring sugars which can be found in fruits, vegetables, grains and dairy products.
Common “table sugar” or sucrose is mainly extracted and refined from sugar cane. Sucrose is an equal combination of glucose and fructose (one molecule of each) bound together as a complex sugar or disaccharide.
When a laboratory conducts a sugar panel test, they look for these naturally occurring sugars which are all mono or disaccharides, or simple carbohydrates.
Image courtesy of makingsenseofsugar.com
On the market today there are also many low- or zero calorie sugar substitutes which still taste sweet but don’t contain sugar. Foods labelled “sugar free” often contain sugar substitutes, which can be artificial sweeteners (acesulfame potassium, aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, etc.), sugar alcohols (erythritol, isomalt, maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol, etc) and plant-derived sweeteners (allulose, monk fruit, stevia, etc.)
What is the definition of ‘sugar free’ in South Africa?
The regulations governing the labelling of food are set by R.146 (2010) of the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act. 1972 (ACT No. 54 of 1972) which are regulations relating to labelling and advertising of foodstuffs in South Africa .
R146 was published in the Government Gazette in 2010. In 2014 an amendment was published – R429 – and opened for comments. This draft legislation is still out for comment and until such time of final legislation, the R146 is still active.
According to the Department of Health:
“There is no definition of sugar free in the current Regulation (R146/2010). It is our opinion that a sugar free claim shall be indicated on the label if a total sugar content in a final product is in line with the conditions prescribed for sugar free claim stipulated in R146 Table 1 “Virtually free or free (0.5g per 100g/ml)”.
GUDGU the brand
GUDGU (Goedheid Uit Die Grond Uit) is a South African company that manufactures a wide range of cordials and syrups labelled as sugar free, and is based in Rivergate Industrial Park, in the Cape Farmlands.
The varieties labelled as sugar free are marketed as keto, banting and diabetic-friendly and, according to their website, use a combination of stevia and xylitol to add sweetness.
Engaging with GUDGU
We first liaised with GUDGU in mid-2021, asking for documentation supporting the sugar free status of their products.
GUDGU replied to our query immediately with copies of nutritional analyses of two samples of their cordial products, Pink Lemonade and Elderflower. The laboratory tests were from March 2021 and both analyses found that the products contained less than 0,5g sugar per 100ml.
GUDGU’s laboratory test results for their Pink Lemonade and Elderflower cordials showed less than 0.5g/100ml of the various sugars
The TOPIC team then asked if GUDGU routinely tested their products and whether we could collaborate in this regard as we have done in previous investigations, such as Fry’s and FUTURELIFE. The TOPIC team randomly buys the products which are then slotted into a supplier’s existing laboratory testing schedule and therefore the supplier bears the costs and as agreed, we share the results with consumers.
GUDGU responded:
“Due to not changing our formula and suppliers that follow strict regulations, we have no need to regularly test our products for sugar panels and artificial sweeteners. We will however certainly keep you top of mind when we do embark on a collaboration effort for randomised testing of our product. It is a very costly exercise as you know, and we are not looking at doing more tests soon. We will however do extra tests when our suppliers and raw materials change.”
Testing compliance
According to R146 labelling regulations, any nutrient claim for a foodstuff needs to be retested in a laboratory every three years. This means that GUDGU would need to retest its sugar free products in a few years. We asked GUDGU if their sugar free products were indeed tested every three years:
“Yes. We have to comply with rules and regulations pertaining to our ISO 22000 Food Safety Certification. Our last test run was just done by SABS and we got the results in 2023, which means we only need to test again in 2026.”
TOPIC’s independent laboratory test results
In July 2021, the TOPIC team purchased two randomly selected GUDGU sugar free cordial products – Lemonade Cordial and Unicorn Cordial.
We then sent these products to a Cape Town laboratory for independent testing and received the following results in August 2021.
TOPIC’s laboratory test results for GUDGU’s Lemonade cordial.
TOPIC’s laboratory test results for GUDGU’s Unicorn cordial.
The laboratory results show that both GUDGU’s sugar free cordials have less than 0,5g sugar per 100ml.
Sugar free regulations
According to Gabrielle Jackson, the dietitian and regulatory consultant who heads up the Regulatory and Nutrition department at FACTS (Food & Allergy Consulting & Testing Services):
“The regulations (R.146) indicate that mono and di- saccharide free claims may be made when there is not more than 0,5 g per 100 g/ml; the department has indicated that this same cut-off may be applied to total sugar too. Therefore, 0,4 g total sugar per 100 ml is in line with the regulation so “sugar free” will be permitted.
“The current requirements of R.146 are for the product to be analysed by means of glycaemic carbohydrates (due to the presence of the claim) and the results must be verified every 3 years. The product should be sampled in accordance with the requirements of guideline 5 as a composite sample.”
The National Department of Health said:
“Yes, it is our opinion that 0.4 g/100ml qualifies to be considered sugar free.”
Labelling expert Glyn Fogell said:
“R146/2010 sets the bar for a sugar-free or virtually sugar-free claim at 0.5 g per 100 g or ml, so 0.4g/100ml would qualify. Sweeteners such as xylitol, stevia (“steviol glycosides”) are all regulated in terms of R733/2012 and any sugar alcohol or combination thereof present at a level of more than 50ppm (50g/kg) requires a warning in the prescribed words. According to R991 which regulates Foodstuffs for Infants and Young Children, these types of food may not contain sugar alcohols or non-nutritive sweeteners.
“And also, any nutrient claim made for a foodstuff will result in mandatory retesting by a reputable laboratory every three years.”
GUDGU responds
GUDGU’s Director of Product Development, Operations and Legal, Viljoen de Kock, said the following:
“Your investigation came as a pleasant surprise. It is really welcomed and refreshing to have entities like yours helping industries stick to conducting business ethically and to the highest standard possible, and we appreciate the good and necessary work you do to keep our consumers safe and informed.
“We comply with all regulations including label legislation and it would be our pleasure to welcome you should you wish to come and do a site visit in future to see our state of the art facility.
“We invested over R1-million to upgrade our health and safety certifications and received our ISO22000 Food Safety Management System Certification two months ago. We are very proud of it and many doors are opening because of this international certification. We are now ready to export to the rest of the world, and we will be attending the SIAL Food Expo in Paris in October 2022.
“With our ISO22000 Certification we have to do an array of regular testing of our products to comply with various food safety standards. One of the tests will be our claim for sugar free. We have just embarked on a testing cycle with the SABS and will have results soon. We invite you to check in with us on a regular basis and request the testing results.”
The R286 (Fruit Juices and Drinks) regulations
R286 are the regulations relating to the classification, packing and marking of fruit juice and drinks intended for sale in South Africa. Here, fruit juice is categorised into different classes, namely fresh fruit juice, fruit juice, nectar, squash, drink and imitation drink.
Definitions taken from the R286 regulations
Asked to assess the labels of the four GUDGU cordials that were mentioned in this report, labelling expert Fogell said the following:
“GUDGU needs to comply with R286 (Fruit Juices and Drinks) and unless these products reach at least the requirements for the class of Nectar, they may not carry any depiction of fruit on the label. Cordials are similar to “squashes” and typically contain under 10% fruit juice v/v when diluted as Ready-To-Drink.”
A “Nectar” is a class defined in R286 with defined values for juice content according to the variety of fruit or calculated for a blend of fruits. Nothing below the class of Nectar may bear a depiction of fruit in any manner.
Fogell continued:
“A lemonade is actually a fruit, or fruit flavoured, drink or cordial, and no fruit may be depicted on either of these classes. Where a Nectar or Juice has been blended, there’s an unofficial rule of thumb of 4% threshold for fruit depiction on the label. GUDGU’s Pink Lemonade and Lemonade Sugar Free Cordials must be described as “flavoured”.
“The Regulations also prohibit the depiction of vegetation that may imply content and therefore the elderflower blossom may not be depicted either on the label for a Cordial or Drink.”
GUDGU responds:
“Our Lemonades contain 14% real lemon juice and are not lemon flavoured, so Fogell’s statement here is not correct related to our products.
“Our botanicals range (Elderflower, Orange Blossom and Buchu) contain actual flowers and leaves from the plants – we make the extracts from the actual plants, so Fogell’s statement here is also not valid.”
What does the law say about “secret ingredients”?
GUDGU’S Unicorn Sugar Free Cordial has “unicorn flavour” listed as one of its ingredients which raised the question of whether suppliers were allowed to not disclose ingredients or if actual unicorns were added to the drink.
When asked if ingredients could remain undisclosed, Fogell said:
“All ingredients must be declared in descending order of ingoing mass. R146/2010 requires this. While “unicorn flavour” might be a proprietary flavour profile, it is not clear to the average consumer and nonsensical; I doubt that anyone knows what a unicorn would taste like. They may, however, just describe it as “flavouring” in the ingredients. I believe DALRRD might also have an objection to the description on the main panel.”
GUDGU responds about R286 and unicorn flavours
“We will comply with R288. We have recruited a graphic designer to help with a concept and will be ready in a couple of months. We have removed the word unicorn in the ingredients list.”
A retailer’s response
Jackson’s Real Food Market founder and owner, Gary Jackson, said the following:
“Jacksons has stocked Gudgu cordials since 2014 and have not had a single return or concern about the claims made. The low carb community love the product, not to mention the low sugar followers. This is a versatile cordial great in gins and cocktails and one can really enjoy yourself without the carbs or the guilt. We treasure our relationship with them.”
TOPIC conclusion
Consumers wanted to know if GUDGU’s products were really sugar free as their labels claim and both GUDGU’s laboratory tests that they provided us with, and the random laboratory testing of the products by the TOPIC team, showed that the products tested were indeed sugar free.
Various independent labelling experts agreed that GUDGU’s products fully comply with the R146/2010 regulations requiring not more than 0,5g sugar per 100ml, meaning they can accurately be labelled as sugar free.
The subsequent label issues that were raised by one of the labelling experts as per the R286 labelling regulations are being addressed by GUDGU and the consumer can look forward to new labels on future products.
GUDGU’s engagement with us has been very forthcoming and the consumer can feel reassured that their sugar free drinks are indeed, accurately labelled. This has been a positive investigation for the TOPIC team, helping to ensure that consumers can trust their favourite products on South African shelves.
TOPIC works with retailers and producers who are committed to transparency and is supported by Faithful to Nature, Wellness Warehouse, UCOOK, Organic Zone, Jackson’s Real Food Market and Bryanston Organic & Natural Market.
We have completed numerous successful investigations so far, including Pick n Pay free range eggs, Sing Fefur teas, Naturally Organic, Elgin Free Range Chickens, Superfoods, Nature’s Choice GMO-free claims, Woolworth’s organic vegetables, Cape Town Market, Mrs BreadCare, Wakaberry, Le Chocolatier, Freedom Bakery, Frys and Futurelife.
Consumers are encouraged to nominate products for investigation via our online form: https://buff.ly/2PCSBK8
Follow us on Facebook or Twitter or contact the TOPIC SA team via email.
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