Determination of the Sugar Content in High-Sugar Beverages

We determined the sugar content of 75 samples, including eight black sugar beverages (BSBs) and seven Dalgona lattes (DLs) from Seoul, Korea, using high-performance liquid chromatography-evaporative light scattering detector. The mean sugar content per 100 g was 12.7 g and 12.3 g for BSB and DL, respectively. According to the World Health Organization, the mean sugar content per serving in BSB and DL were 34.8 g and 32.5 g, respectively, equivalent to 65∼70% of the recommended daily intake for added sugars. The highest sugar was sucrose (56.5% in BSB and 64.4% in DL). The sugar content could be adjusted in 27 out of 40 stores for BSB and 25 out of 35 stores for DL. The relative standard deviation of the content (g/100 g) per store by the manufacturer ranged between 5.7∼21.6% for BSB and 2.3∼29.5% for DL. This suggests that a uniform recipe is required for manufacturing beverages.