Survey finds 41% of respondents in Bengaluru consume foods with artificial sweeteners

During a recent online survey, 31% of nearly 4,500 people surveyed in Karnataka said they consume foods that have artificial sweeteners every month. Conducted by LocalCircles, a community social media platform, the survey was done in the context of the global debate on the harmful impact of sweeteners, and the acceptable levels of safe consumption.

Over 23,000 responses were received from consumers located in 295 districts of India. Of the 2,900 people surveyed in Bengaluru, 41% said they consume foods containing artificial sweeteners. The top 10 products with artificial sweeteners consumed by people include diet soda drinks, sugar-free gums and energy drinks.

In India, FSSAI has approved six artificial sweeteners, namely saccharin sodium, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, neotame, and isomaltulose for use in food in India.

Karnataka responses

“We received 4,348 responses from Karnataka, and found that Bengaluru, with nearly two-thirds of the respondents. also had the highest percentage (41%) of people in Karnataka consuming products with artificial sweeteners as opposed to the State average of 31%,” said Sachin Taparia, founder, LocalCircles.

“While diet soda drinks, sugar-free gums and energy drinks are the popular products with artificial sweeteners, one in three respondents in Bengaluru are consuming these sweeteners in other forms with their tea or coffee, traditional sweets, etc.,” he said.

“While 34% of the respondents in Bengaluru said they consume diet soda drinks regularly, 31% said they consume energy drinks, and 35% sugar-free gums. Likewise, 18% said they consume sugar-free chocolates, 10% sugar-free ice creams, and 19% energy bars.”

All-India consumption pattern

While the highest consumption percentage was reported from Delhi at 45%, Mumbai followed with 42% of the respondents stating that they consumed foods with artificial sweeteners. Two foods with sweeteners stood out as widely consumed in all the 295 districts — diet soda drinks and sugar-free gums, indicated by 32% of respondents (for each of these products) among those surveyed. 

“Besides these two products, 26% indicated energy drinks, 18% sugar-free chocolates, 18% sugar-free ice creams, 5% energy bars, and 37% other foods and drinks. In addition, 32% of the respondents did not give a clear response, opting for ‘Can’t Say’. Overall, of those urban Indians that consume foods with artificial sweeteners each month, one in three consume diet soda or chewing gum. Many of the respondents in this question opted for more than one product,” Mr Taparia said.

In the nationwide survey, 66% respondents were men while 34% were women. Over 42% respondents were from Tier 1 cities, 34% from Tier 2, and 24% were from Tier 3, 4 and rural districts. 

Display use of artificial sweeteners in food products

Over 91% of the 23,000 respondents in India said food brands should prominently display the use of artificial sweeteners on the front side of the packs. “While 82% of the respondents in Karnataka expressed this opinion, Bengaluru had a slightly higher percentage in this category at 89%,” Mr Taparia added.