A Glass of Lemonade Contains 14 Sugar Cubes... Seoul City Advises "Adjust Sugar When Ordering"

Seoul City Investigates Sugar Content in 70 Lemon and Grapefruit Ade Drinks from Top 7 Franchise Brands
Drinking One Cup of Lemonade Can Provide Up to 124% of the Recommended Daily Added Sugar Intake

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has announced that the average sugar content per cup of franchise lemon and grapefruit ade, popular in summer, is 42.5g, equivalent to 14 sugar cubes, with a maximum of 62.0g depending on the brand. This amount reaches 85-124% of the recommended daily intake, urging consumers to check and adjust sugar levels when ordering.

On the 27th, Seoul City selected the top 7 brands based on consumer preference, number of franchise stores, and sales rankings to investigate and disclose the sugar content of widely consumed franchise ade beverages. From June 23 to August 3, a total of 70 samples were collected from 5 regions, including 35 lemon ade menu items and 35 grapefruit ade menu items, to analyze sugar content through the city’s Health and Environment Research Institute.

The institute examined minimum or single size lemon and grapefruit ade beverages sold at Mega Coffee, Paik’s Coffee, Starbucks, Ediya, Coffee Bean, Twosome Place, and Hollys.

The investigation revealed that the sugar content per cup of lemon and grapefruit ade averaged 42.5g (equivalent to 14 sugar cubes), with a maximum of 62.0g (20 sugar cubes) depending on the brand. This means that drinking one cup of ade provides on average 85% to a maximum of 124% of the recommended daily added sugar intake (50g based on a 2000 kcal diet). Lemon ade contained between 15.2g and 62.0g of sugar per cup, showing about a fourfold difference depending on the brand. Consuming the beverage with the highest sugar content results in intake of up to 124% of the daily added sugar limit. Grapefruit ade contained between 23.8g and 58.0g of sugar per cup, showing about a 2.4-fold difference depending on the brand.

Comparing the average sugar content of one cup of ade (42.5g) with other drinks, it is about 1.5 times higher than the average sugar content of a 250ml can of cola (27g), and about twice as high as the average sugar content of a 270ml commercial caf? latte can (approximately 20g).

Meanwhile, Seoul City confirmed that all 35 stores from the 7 franchise companies surveyed allow sugar adjustment such as syrup reduction when ordering ade. Additionally, nutritional information for products is provided through company websites and apps, and many companies also display nutritional information in stores.

Seoul City plans to request cooperation from each company to display nutritional information prominently on menus and other visible places so that citizens can understand sugar content and make informed beverage choices, and to actively communicate that sugar adjustment is possible when ordering.

Park Yumi, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Citizen Health Bureau, stated, “Excessive sugar intake increases the risk of obesity and hypertension. We hope citizens actively reduce sugar intake by checking nutritional information and requesting sugar adjustments when ordering beverages.” She added, “Seoul City will continue to investigate and disclose sugar content in widely consumed foods to promote healthy eating habits.”

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