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chris-prentice

New U.S. diet rules would take 20 percent bite out of American sugar use

By Chris Prentice NEW YORK (Reuters) – If the U.S. government has its way, Americans would cut their consumption of sugar and corn syrup by more than 2 million tonnes a year, the latest blow for a sweetener industry facing an onslaught of criticism over negative health effects. The U.S. government on Thursday issued new dietary guidelines that suggested for the first time that consumers limit their consumption of added sweeteners at a specific level, less than 10 percent of a recommended daily intake of about 2,000 calories. With one teaspoon of sugar equal to approximately 15 calories, a reduction equivalent to more than 60 calories worth of added sugars – over 20 percent fewer than the average American consumes today – would amount to some 2.2 million tonnes of primarily sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.