"One Cup of Black Sugar or Dalgona Drink Contains Sugar Equivalent to 11-12 Sugar Cubes" ... Beware of Overconsumption

Seoul City and Consumer Citizens' Coalition Investigate 75 Cases of Popular Brown Sugar Drinks Among Teenagers
Sugar Content Exceeds 30% of Daily Limit, Reaching Up to 54.5%

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] A single cup of the popular "Heukdang (Black Sugar) and Dalgona drinks" sold at beverage specialty stores contains more than 30%, and up to 54.5%, of the daily recommended sugar intake, so caution is advised when consuming them.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government, together with the Consumer Citizens' Coalition, collected a total of 75 samples from top brands with many franchise stores across five regions nationwide during August and September. These included 40 products from 8 Heukdang drink brands and 35 products from 7 Dalgona drink brands. On the 9th, they disclosed the results of sugar content tests. The analysis was conducted by the Seoul Institute of Health and Environment.

Dalgona drinks have significantly increased sugar content as they are coffee beverages topped with dalgona toppings made primarily from sugar and syrup added.

According to the investigation, the average sugar content in one cup (average weight 282.5g) of Heukdang drinks from brands such as Ediya, Twosome Place, Hollys, Yogerpresso, Pascucci, Paik’s Coffee, Mega Coffee, Gongcha, and Coffee Bean reached 34.8% (34.8g) of the daily sugar intake standard (100g) set by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The average sugar content in one cup (average weight 267.2g) of Dalgona drinks was also about 32.5% (32.5g) of the daily standard (100g). This means Heukdang drinks contain sugar equivalent to about 12 sugar cubes (3g each), and Dalgona drinks contain sugar equivalent to about 11 sugar cubes (3g each).

In particular, the sugar content per cup of Dalgona drinks (32.5g) was 4.5 times higher than that of iced caf? latte (7.2g) and 1.3 times higher than that of iced vanilla caf? latte (25.0g).

However, when comparing this year’s survey results with last year’s, when the Heukdang drink craze began, Seoul City explained that the sugar content per 100g of Heukdang drinks from five brands?Yogerpresso, Pascucci, Paik’s Coffee, Mega Coffee, and Gongcha?has all decreased compared to the previous year. Among them, Gongcha showed the largest decrease, which is interpreted as these companies making efforts to reduce sugar.

Since these Heukdang and Dalgona drinks have sugar as their main ingredient, there were also calls for providing sugar content information so consumers can know how much sugar is in the drinks. The city plans to request cooperation from businesses to display sugar content on menus and offer various cup sizes so consumers can choose drinks with lower sugar content on their own.

Park Yumi, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Citizen Health Bureau, said, "Due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the popularity and consumption of sweet drinks like Dalgona coffee have increased as a way to relieve stress and enjoy indoor activities." She added, "Since the average sugar content per cup was found to be more than 30% of the daily sugar intake standard, caution is needed to avoid excessive sugar consumption, especially among adolescents and young adults when choosing drinks."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.