Opinion
"I’d rather eat something sweet on my outdoor adventures than insects"
by Siri Schubert
Diarrhoea thanks to sweeteners: Are 5 gummy bears already "excessive consumption"?
18/8/2025
Translation: machine translated
Sugar substitutes can cause diarrhoea above a certain amount. But where is the limit? The Hamburg Consumer Advice Centre denounces inadequate labelling.
Too much sugar is known to be bad for your health. That's why many people prefer to buy foods with sweeteners. But these can also be problematic - such as sugar substitutes. If you eat too much of them, you end up with a tummy ache. The consumer advice centre in Hamburg has now discovered that five jelly babies are sometimes enough for this.
To this end, the consumer advice centre examined 16 products containing sugar substitutes and also checked whether the laxative effect was correctly indicated on the packaging. The result: the warnings are barely visible and often not specific enough in practice.
Labelling is mandatory
Products that consist of more than ten per cent sugar substitutes must be labelled on the packaging with the statement «may have a laxative effect if consumed in excess».
The limit for the laxative effect is 20 to 30 grams per day, but the tolerance threshold is very individual. The Hamburg Consumer Centre therefore assumes a threshold of ten grams for sensitive people.
Less than one protein bar can be too much
The products with sugar substitutes analysed include protein bars, biscuits and wine gums of different varieties and manufacturers. The consumer advice centre calculated how many grams of sugar alcohol are contained per packaging unit and how helpful the information on the packaging is.
The result: even insensitive people should eat a maximum of one of the three chocolate bars analysed. They contain 13, 15 and 19 grams of maltitol. The limit of ten grams for sensitive people is sometimes already reached with half a bar.
The situation is similar for the other products analysed. «Tic Tac Two Fresh & Mild» consists of 97 per cent sorbitol. One pack contains 37.4 grams of sorbitol. Even insensitive people should expect diarrhoea after consuming a pack containing less than 40 grams.
The wine gums of the «Yummi Yummi Fruchtgummi Colaflaschen zuckerfrei» variety consist of 73 per cent maltitol syrup - each 200 gram pack contains 146 grams of maltitol syrup. According to the consumer advice centre, consuming just six cola bottles from the pack can be problematic for sensitive people. The manufacturer is also in breach of food law, as there is no mandatory warning about the laxative effect, the investigation criticises
Misleading and unhelpful labelling
The other products are labelled with the warning. However, the consumer advice centre denounces the fact that the information is usually far too small and also does not help consumers. It is not clear what « excessive consumption» is.
The gummy bears of the «Original Bären Garten Leichte Bären» variety and the «Beauty Sweeties Sugar Free» bunnies have large, clearly visible warnings on the front of the bag. They also contain specific information on the quantities: just five bears or bunnies can have a laxative effect.
You can view the products tested and the results here.
Some of the products mentioned in the analysis are also available in our shop. Please decide for yourself how much of it you want to eat.
Header image: Shutterstock/Komuso and Colorsandia
Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.
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