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  • Page | Last updated: 11 Apr 2025

Food-Based Dietary Guidelines recommendations for sugars

Health Promotion Knowledge Gateway

Summary of FBDG recommendations for sugars for the the EU, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom

Due care was taken to ensure factually correct information. Food groupings and food group names differ across individual FBDGs; the ones used here are a compromise to present the information in a structured way. Differences such as those in number of portions and portion sizes were kept unaltered. The original country FBDGs and the responsible national public health authorities remain the only qualified points of reference.

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Belgium-

- Drink as few beverages with added sugars as possible.

- Avoid sugary drinks with an energy content over 50 kcal per 227 ml serving or 22 kcal/100 ml, or that contain more than 5 % sugar. This applies to soft drinks, energy drinks, lemonades, etc. but not to fruit and vegetable juices, soups or milk drinks.

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Bulgaria-

- Limit your intake of sugar.

- Avoid consuming carbonated drinks containing sugar, prefer water.

- Limit sugar-sweetened coffee, tea, milk, etc.

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Czechia--Reduce your sugar intake, especially in the form of sweetened drinks, sweets, jams, sweetened dairy products and ice cream.-

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DenmarkFor older children and adults, drink no more than ½ litre per week of sweet beverages (both sugar-sweetened and sugar-free), such as soft drinks, lemonade and as well as sports and energy drinks--

Note:

- Children 4-6 years of age: Maximum 1/4 litre per week.
- Children 7-10 years of age: Maximum 1/3 litre per week.
- Older children and adults: Maximum 1/2 litre per week.

Children should not drink energy drinks.

Germany

- Sugar-sweetened drinks are not recommended. 

- Maximum free sugar intake of no more than 10% of total energy intake (see Notes, 1) 

Avoid sweet, salty and fatty foods.-

Notes: Sugar, salt and fat are often "invisibly" present in processed foods like sausage, pastries, sweets, fast food and convenience products. High intake of these increases the risk of overweight, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes.

1. Ernst JB et al. (2019) Quantitative recommendation on sugar intake in Germany. Short version of the consensus paper by the German Obesity Society (DAG), German Diabetes Society (DDG) and German Nutrition Society (DGE). Ernahrungs Umschau 66(2): 26–34; DOI: 10.4455/eu.2019.006
EstoniaAdded sugar: max. 10% daily energy, ideally ≤5%.--

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Ireland-Eat sparingly. Limit foods and drinks high in sugar and eat them only in small amounts.-
Greece-Limit added sugar intake. Avoid beverages, commercial juices, energy drinks and non-alcoholic drinks with added sugars. Consume sweets occasionally and in moderation.-
Spain-

- In order not to enhance the taste for sweet flavours, minimize or avoid the consumption of sugary and sweetened beverages.

- It is better not to favour the consumption of foods with a sweet flavour (with sugar or sweeteners).

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France---
Note: See recommendations for sweet products
Croatia-Limit consumption of sugar, sweets and sweet drinks-
ItalySimple sugars should make up max. 10-15% of daily calories intake

- Limit the consumption of sugar by reducing the number of teaspoons that add to drinks, candies and sweets, honey, and syrup.

- Limit the consumption of sugary beverages as much as possible.

- Limit use of low-calorie sweeteners.

- Occasional consumption of fruit juices, limited consumption of ice tea or soft drinks.

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Note: Limit the consumption of products that contain a lot of sucrose, and especially those that attach to the teeth, such as soft candies, nougats, etc. Brush your teeth after every meal or snack.

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CyprusShould not exceed 10% of total daily energy intakeReduce the consumption of sugar, prefer beverages/foods with reduced or no sugar-
LatviaNo more than 5% of the daily energy intake, or an average of up to 25 g per day and a strong recommendation to not exceed 50 g a day

- Limit your intake of sugar and sugary products.

- Gradually reduce the amount of sweetened products in the diet as a whole.

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Lithuania-

- Limit foods and drinks that are high in sugar.

- Consume as little as possible sweet drinks, sweets, desserts, muffins.

- It is best when the amount of sugar does not exceed 5 g/100 g of the product.

- Look at the label for added sugars ("sugar", "glucose", "fructose", "glucose syrup", "corn syrup", etc).

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Luxembourg
Swap sugary drinks for water. Sugary drinks fall into the category of "extras" and should only be consumed occasionally. The following should all be considered sugary drinks : fruit juices, nectars, juice-based drinks, fizzy drinks, sweetened iced teas, flavoured and sweetened milks, chocolate milk drinks and energy drinks.
Sugars are added in the manufacturing and production of many foods. Often these sugars are themselves produced industrially. Foods high in industrial or sugars are soft drinks, fizzy drinks, nectars, energy drinks, sweets, pastries, cakes, milk puddings, ready meals, prepared tomato sauce, industrial ketchup, etc.
--
Hungary---
Note: Cut down on sugar-
MaltaLess than 25 grams or 6 teaspoons a dayLimit consumption and avoid adding sugar to your tea or coffee-

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Netherlands-

- Minimise consumption of sugar-containing beverages.

- Limit consumption of foods with too much sugar.

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Note: Vegetable and fruit juices, and milk and yoghurt drinks with added sugar are considered as sugar-containing beverages-
Austria-

- Eat sugar rarely.

- Reduce the consumption of sugar gradually.

- Prefer drinks/foods with reduced sugar content.

- Pay attention to products with added sugars (e.g. fruit yoghurt).

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Poland-Eat less sugar and sweetened beverages. Read labels - choose products with no added sugar or those with lower content. Choose dairy products without added sugar.-

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Portugal-Reduce consumption of sugar-
Romania-Moderate sugar intake-
SloveniaFree sugars should not provide more than 5% of daily energy intake (i.e. up to 30-40grams or 6-8 teaspoons in a day)Limit your intake of sugar and of foods and drinks with added sugar (eg sugary snacks, sweets, sweet baked goods, sugary drinks)-
Note: The given recommendation refers to all such free sugar - i.e. sugar that you add yourself (sweetening of drinks and foods), naturally occurring sugar in fruit juices and some, and sugar that is added to foods and drinks by manufacturers (soft drinks, nectars, sweets, breakfast cereals... )-

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Slovakia-Avoid consuming a lot of foods or drinks with added sugar-
FinlandMax. 10 E% of added sugars

- Eat sugar sparingly.

- Avoid foods/drinks containing sugar (e.g. flavoured yoghurts).

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Sweden-

- Less sugar.

- Hold back on the sweets, pastries, ice creams and other products containing lots of sugar. Cut back on sweet drinks in particular.

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United KingdomFree sugars should not make up more than 5% of energy (from food and drink) each day

- Cut down on added sugar. Swap sugary breakfast cereals for plain cereals such as plain porridge, wholewheat biscuit cereals, shredded wholewheat or no added sugar muesli.

- Cereal bars often contain high levels of free sugars too, so remember to check the label.

- Swap flavoured or corner-style yoghurts for low fat, lower sugar yoghurts, adding fresh fruit for variety.

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SwitzerlandOnly consume soft drinks, sweet and salty snacks in small quantities (0 to 1 portion per day)

- Gradually add less and less sugar or sweetener. This way you will slowly get used to less sweetness.

- Sugar is not only found in soft drinks and sweets, but also in many breakfast cereals, fruit yoghurts, ready meals, ketchup and sauces. Prefer unsweetened alternatives or products with a low sugar content.

1 portion corresponds to 2 decilitres of soft drinks such as cola, iced tea, energy drink, light or zero drinks, syrup, sweetened milk drinks and fruit juice drinks
Note: Sugar is also hidden behind terms such as sucrose, grape sugar, glucose, glucose syrup, fruit sugar, fructose, dextrose, maltodextrin and others.
Iceland-

- Less added sugar.

- Drink little or no soda or soft drinks and eat sweets, cakes, biscuits, and ice cream sparingly. Rather eat nuts, seeds and fruits.

 
Note: Not included in FBDG but in a background document not intended for the public: Max. 10 E% of addded sugars 
Norway-

- Drinks with sugar, such as soda, energy drinks, juices and ice tea, should be limited.

- Frequent intake of drinks with sugar or sweeteners between meals should be avoided.

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