Tea-based beverages, 61 products compared

Tea-based beverages are increasingly popular. Nutritional profiles, meaning how many and which sugars, deserve great attention. As do the ingredients, additives, and synthetic and non-synthetic flavors.

The market survey conducted by GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade) considers 61 shelf products in Italy. Industrial brands, of retail and the discount.

Tea-based beverages, comparison parameters

The comparison  is between lemon and peach tea-based beverages, decaffeinated to the same flavors and based on green tea. 50 conventional products and 11 organic, which are to be favored both for the use of ingredients grown without synthetic pesticides and herbicides, and for the absence of chemical flavors.

The labels compared reveal to us:

• the amounts (not at all negligible) of added sugars and the energy value,
• the quality of the process. Tea infusion or addition of its extract to water,
• the nature of the flavors (natural or synthetic),
• the additives, if present. (1)

The standard portion and the shrinkflation

A 250 ml glass  is the standard portion considered to standardize the comparison of calories and the amount of sugars provided by each of the 61 beverages packaged in various formats (from 250 ml to 1.5 liters). Four exceptions are recorded here, with two suspected of shrinkflation (less product, same price).

– Coop refers the portion, on all formats, to 200 ml. Not very realistic in the 500 ml bottle, as in the 1.5 liter one,

- Coca Cola refers the nutritional values ​​from one serving of its Fuse Tea to the entire 400ml bottle. And it is more credible since those who buy a 400-500 ml bottle of tea tend to consume it in full, underestimating its calories, as if it were water,

– Ferrero  it reduces the standard bottle from 500 ml to 400 ml, and in the only organic version of Estathè the green tea displays on the label 'contains two portions'. An ad hoc cunning, since the same tea in the 330 ml bottle refers to the portion as the entire contents.

– Eurospin offers an example of shrinkflation in proposing the finest Blues infusion tea in a 200 ml bottle, the extract tea in the 250 ml format.

5 teaspoons of sugar in a glass

The pure tea drink  – without added sugars and/or sweeteners – is still rare in Italy. And the quantities of added sugars are often dangerous for your health, in light of EFSA recommendations to reduce their contributions to a minimum.

The amount of sugars  in fact, in a glass of tea-based drink it reaches almost 30 grams. An oversized amount, equal to 5 teaspoons of sugar.

Sugars, mix and alternatives

Among conventional drinks 6 lemon tea-based drinks and the same number of peach-flavoured drinks use only sugar, five of the decaffeinated ones and one of the green teas.

For the rest, the sweet flavor is offered by various mix of sugar and other ingredients and/or sweeteners, including non-caloric ones.

The combination the most frequent is sugar, fructose, sucralose, adopted by Beltè, Eurospin, Spinner, Lissa and Consilia. Saint Benedict in this mix replaces fructose with fructose-glucose syrup.

To be consumed in moderation

It's useful to remember that the three sweeteners in these combinations require moderation in consumption:

Fructose is subject to a daily dose of less than 50g, otherwise there is an increased risk of fatty liver disease (hepatic steatosis) and a decrease in insulin sensitivity. If consumed in excess it can also cause an increase in cholesterol and triglycerides.

High fructose corn syrup It is very rich in fructose and presents all the aforementioned drawbacks.

Sucralose (E 955) It is calorie-free and has one of the highest sweetening powers among sweeteners. However, it is suspected of a correlation with the risk of coronary diseases and cancer. Subject to an ADI (acceptable daily intake) of 15 mg/kg of body weight, it is prohibited in foods intended for children under 3 years old. It must not be exposed to heat above 120 °C as harmful compounds can form.

The charge of sweeteners

The sweetener option – to reduce sugar consumption and calorie intake of drink tea sweets – itself deserves some consideration. The first may seem like a boring lecture, but it should be remembered: with small daily efforts it is possible to reduce addiction to the sweet taste and regain the pleasure of other flavors.

In the 8 drinks  based on sugar-free tea, the sweeteners are always in combination, three molecules in 5 cases and two in the remaining 3. Sucralose is always present, combined with

Acesulfame K (E 950). A synthetic sweetener that has always been combined with aspartame (E 951). The latter is being progressively abandoned after suspicions of potential carcinogenicity and increased risk of cerebrovascular diseases emerged in some studies. LINK Acesulfame K is also associated with the risk of coronary heart disease and cancer, although EFSA has rejected the carcinogenic risk at the maximum daily dose of 9 mg/kg of body weight.

Sodium Cyclamate (E 952). It is subject to an ADI (acceptable daily intake) of 7 mg/kg of body weight. Like aspartame, it is controversial. In some people, a variable fraction of absorbed cyclamate can be converted into (toxic) cyclohexylamine by intestinal microbiota bacteria. Animal studies have shown that cyclohexylamine degrades testicular tissue and sperm. Finally, recent studies have investigated the link between the consumption of intense sweeteners and the alteration of the intestinal flora, which causes a disorderin the regulation of glucose levels.

Sweeteners, the alternatives

Alternative sweeteners to those mentioned are used only in Ferrero's sugar-free products. Estathé zero peach and lemon employ in fact

• Steviol glycosides from stevia (E 969), with zero glycemic index, zero calories and heat stability. Even in this case, however, the risk of chemical residues generated by the process of extracting steviol glycosides from the plant raises doubts. In addition to the presence of sucralose, in the aforementioned Ferrero products.
• Erythritol (E 968). Obtained from fermented corn or corn starch, it is a polyol not assimilated by the body. With very low glycemic index and zero calories, it can cause intestinal bloating.

Sweetness, even absent, in organic tea-based beverages

Organic tea-based drinks they also differ from conventional ones due to the use of alternative sweeteners to sucrose. 6 products contain grape juice, one agave juice and two no sweetener: the best, for those who are free from the slavery of sweets.

Agave syrupHowever, it should be consumed in moderation. It is too rich in fructose (which participates in fatty liver disease or metabolic syndrome, as we have seen), which is why it has a low glycemic index. Provides 3.5 kcal/g. It is also very sweetening, so it accustoms you to a very sweet taste.

The two organic green teas of Estathè and Galvanina, however, add cane sugar, substantially similar to beet sugar.

Additives and coloring

Two additives  they are present on almost all products, together, alone or combined with another additive. In the selection of organic products, they appear in only 4 out of 11 products.

It's about of substances very widespread in foods:

• Ascorbic acid (E 300)  it is synthetic vitamin C. It is used as an antioxidant to prevent the product from browning.
• Citric acid (E 330). Citric acid is a natural acid found in most fruits. On an industrial scale, this acidity regulator is produced through the controlled fermentation of a fungus (Aspergillus niger), which can produce mycotoxins and trigger allergic reactions in people sensitive to mold. The most common risk linked to this additive, however, concerns damage to the teeth, especially among heavy consumers of carbonated drinks, children first of all.

In the sample  trisodium citrate (E 331) and calcium citrate (E 333) also appear. They are both salts of citric acid (E330). Therefore, the considerations related to the latter apply.

In only one case – Carrefour Classic Peach Tea – we found a coloring agent, sulfite-caustic caramel (E 150b), to be avoided in case of sulfite intolerance.

Artificial flavors almost everywhere

The taste of tea, lemon or peach is almost always obtained with the addition of synthetic flavors. Few exceptions: 7 out of 50.

The drinks  based on decaffeinated tea are blatantly aimed at children, as shown by the characters on the label. Even here, however (in addition to the additives mentioned above) synthetic flavors are always present. Among the 6 peach flavors, only Estathè uses natural flavors. Among the 6 lemon flavors, two do: Consilia and Lissa.

For the rest, we find only natural aromas in five cases:

• Coop, which uses natural peach and tea flavors in its peach-flavored drink, even in the sugar-free version
• Fuzetea (Coca-Cola), which in the two flavors peach&rose and lemon&lemongrass uses natural aromas and extracts (rose and lemongrass, i.e. lemongrass),
• Recommends Knowing How to Choose, decaffeinated lemon tea.

In organic drinks, however, the flavorings are always natural, as required by regulation 848/2018, which prohibits the addition of artificial flavorings but also numerous additives.

Labels and mysteries

The labels as often happens raise some doubts about proper consumer information. Four examples.

• Ferrero for its organic green tea drink Estathè it does not specify in the ingredients list that the aromas are natural, although this is expected in organic production. It simply states it on the neck of the bottle.
• Coca Cola for its Fuse Tea limone&lemongrass it does not indicate the quantity of lemongrass extract, even highlighted on the label as an ingredient.
• Preservative free is a claim present on almost all products, which however contain an antioxidant. Generally illegal.
• Gluten free it's another claim very popular on the bottles examined, definitely outlawed.

Marta Strinati

Notes

(1) The information relating to additives is based on works published by Altroconsumo and the French consumer magazine 60 Millions del consommateurs