Zucker app for iPhone and iPad

This is a program which helps to get to know different sugars and synonyms for sugars in foods and beverages, and to calculate the respective energy content in kilocalories (kcal) or kilojoules (kJ).

Explanation: Today, the average amount for the ingestion of sugar per day and person is 90 to 100g. Pure sugar means pure empty calories, lacking vitamins, mineral nutrients and dietary fibres. A large part of the sugar (up to 85%!) today is consumed unknowingly. Sugars can be found in nearly all preserves as flavouring and preserving agent, in dressings, ketchup, instant meals, soups, even unexpectedly, as in pickled gherkins, pickled herring, salty snacks, and above all, in beverages.

In spite of the obligation to print ingredient lists on the labels, identification of sugar is not easy for the average consumer. Many synonyms for the same chemical substance as well as numerous different kinds of sugars hinder their detection and calorie-counting. Who, for instance, knows that dextrose, glucose, and grape sugar mean the same substance? And how much energy is stored in glucose syrup, invert sugar and maltodextrin? Many people replace the spoonful sugar in their coffee by an artificial sweetener, but do not consider the numerous hidden sugars in their processed food. Did you know that there are up to 30% sugar in ketchup and mustard?

On food labels, separately listed kinds of sugar together with their different weight proportions make the sugar content disappear from the top rankings!

A critical sugar consumer must be able to find hidden sugars in foods when shopping!