Dark chocolate with less sugar: how to read the label
Reading a dark chocolate label for sugar takes five checks: what the name means, the serving size, the sugar lines, the sugar alcohol line and the order of the ingredients. The calculator below turns the label numbers into grams per 100 g.
Read on 2026-10-16. The rules quoted are the US ones. Labels in other countries follow other rules, and the product's own label is what counts.
1. What the name means
The US Code of Federal Regulations (2024 edition), section 163.123 on sweet chocolate, says that sweet chocolate is the solid or semiplastic food prepared by intimately mixing and grinding chocolate liquor with one or more optional nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners, and may contain one or more of the other optional ingredients specified in the section. It adds that sweet chocolate contains not less than 15 percent by weight of chocolate liquor, calculated by the method the section gives. It also says that semisweet chocolate or bittersweet chocolate is sweet chocolate that contains not less than 35 percent by weight of chocolate liquor, calculated in the same manner.
If the pack prints a cacao percentage, note it, and note the serving size in grams.
2. The sugar lines
The US Code of Federal Regulations (2024 edition), section 101.9 on nutrition labeling, says that total sugars shall be defined as the sum of all free mono- and disaccharides (such as glucose, fructose, lactose, and sucrose). It adds that total sugars content shall be expressed to the nearest gram, except that if a serving contains less than 1 gram, the statement “Contains less than 1 gram” or “less than 1 gram” may be used as an alternative, and if the serving contains less than 0.5 gram, the content may be expressed as zero. It also says that added sugars content shall be indented under Total Sugars and shall be prefaced with the word “Includes” followed by the amount (in grams) “Added Sugars.” The same page says that added sugars are either added during the processing of foods, or are packaged as such, and include sugars (free, mono and disaccharides) and sugars from syrups and honey.
Because a serving under 0.5 gram may be shown as zero, a small serving size can hide sugar that adds up if you eat several servings. Check the serving size next to the number.
3. The sugar alcohol line
The same section of the Code of Federal Regulations says that a statement of the number of grams of sugar alcohols in a serving may be declared voluntarily on the label, except that when a claim is made on the label or in labeling about sugar alcohol or total sugars, or added sugars when sugar alcohols are present in the food, sugar alcohol content shall be declared. It adds that for nutrition labeling purposes, sugar alcohols are defined as the sum of saccharide derivatives in which a hydroxyl group replaces a ketone or aldehyde group and whose use in the food is listed by FDA (e.g., mannitol or xylitol) or is generally recognized as safe (e.g., sorbitol).
See the guides on maltitol and erythritol for two sweeteners that may be counted on that line.
4. The order of the ingredients
The US Code of Federal Regulations (2024 edition), section 101.4 on the designation of ingredients, says that ingredients required to be declared on the label or labeling of a food shall be listed by common or usual name in descending order of predominance by weight, except that ingredients present in amounts of 2 percent or less by weight may be listed at the end of the ingredient statement following an appropriate quantifying statement.
5. The names of added sugars
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) says that added sugars are sugars, syrups, and other caloric sweeteners that are added to processed or prepared foods. It adds that names for added sugars include brown sugar, cane sugar, corn sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose (when not naturally occurring), fruit juice concentrates, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose (when not in milk or dairy products), maltose, malt syrup, molasses, raw sugar, sucrose, and turbinado sugar.
Per 100 g from your label
General information only. If you have diabetes or another medical condition, ask your doctor or dietitian before you change what you eat.
Sources
Checked on 2026-10-16 against US Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 163.123 (2024 edition, GovInfo), 21 CFR 101.9 (2024 edition, GovInfo), 21 CFR 101.4 (2024 edition, GovInfo), NIDDK dictionary: added sugars. Read the source again before you rely on a number, because rules and studies change.