"Sugar-free" is one of the most misleading labels in the drinks aisle. The EU allows a product to carry the claim if it contains less than 0.5g of sugar per 100ml — but that says nothing about what replaced the sugar. In almost every case, it was replaced with something else. Here's how to read past the front of the label.
The Sugar Replacements — What They Are
When manufacturers remove sugar from a drink, they face a problem: the drink tastes flat without sweetness. The solution is artificial or natural-origin sweeteners. Here are the four most common in Cyprus-available products:
Aspartame
E951Found in: Coca-Cola Zero, Pepsi Max, most diet sodas. 200× sweeter than sugar. Breaks down into phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol in digestion. EFSA-approved but subject to ongoing debate.
Acesulfame-K
E950Found in: most "zero" sodas, often alongside aspartame. Passes through the body largely unmetabolised. Has a slightly bitter aftertaste that aspartame masks — hence they're often combined.
Sucralose
E955Found in: many "diet" flavoured waters, some energy drinks. 600× sweeter than sugar. Chemically derived from sugar but not metabolised as sugar. Generally considered the most neutral of the three.
Steviol Glycosides
E960Found in: "natural" zero-sugar products, some flavoured waters. Derived from the stevia plant. Natural origin, but still a sweetener — still trains the palate to expect sweetness and may affect appetite regulation similarly to artificial sweeteners.
How to Actually Read a Label
The front of the pack tells you what the brand wants you to know. The ingredients list tells you what's actually inside. Here's a quick checklist:
✅ What a genuinely clean sugar-free drink looks like
- Ingredients: carbonated water + natural flavour/essence only
- No E950, E951, E955, E960, E962 in the ingredients
- No "sweetener" in brackets anywhere on the label
- Calories at or near 0 kcal per 100ml
- Total carbohydrates (of which sugars) at 0g
The Spectrum — From Cleanest to Most Compromised
Cleanest: Still water → Unflavoured sparkling water → LaCroix (natural essence, zero sweeteners) → Other natural essence sparkling waters (check label).
Moderate: Stevia-sweetened drinks → Sucralose-sweetened diet flavoured waters → Drinks with multiple natural sweeteners.
Most compromised (but still "sugar-free"): Aspartame + Ace-K sodas (Coke Zero, Pepsi Max) → Diet energy drinks → "Zero" sports drinks.
What Makes LaCroix Different
LaCroix is one of very few flavoured sparkling waters globally — and the only one available in Cyprus — where the ingredients list reads: carbonated water, natural [fruit] essence. No sweetener. No E-number. No taste modifier. The natural essence is a concentrated flavour extract with no caloric or sweetener effect — it's the same category as "natural flavouring" in food, derived from real fruit.
This means LaCroix is genuinely sugar-free in the fullest sense: no sugar, no sugar replacement. It's the only flavoured drink in Cyprus that fits this description.