What does “fructose-free“ mean?

There are currently no regulations for labeling fructose-free foods.  

Alternatively, the FDA states that a food is considered “sugar-free” if it contains less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving.

For our fructose-free products, Frusano follows the following EU regulations:

• A product that contains a maximum 0.5 grams of fructose per 100 grams is deemed fructose-free (for example, Frusano Organic Elderflower Syrup, Frusano Organic Filita, and Frusano Organic Corn Sugar).
• Products with more than 0.5 grams but less than 3 grams of fructose per 100g are defined as "low-fructose" and the packaging of the corresponding products is labeled with the words "low in fructose" (for example, Frusano fruit spreads and Frusano Organic Ketchup).

The Frusano fruit spreads and the Frusano Organic Ketchup are an example of how difficult it is to correctly and also meaningfully describe fructose content in foods; 100 grams of the Frusano Organic Ketchup has less than 3 grams of fructose, but the established 100 gram rule is not a realistic serving size. As a condiment, a person consumes closer to 20 grams of ketchup. Therefore, the fructose content per serving is less than 0.6 gram. For fruit spreads, the same is true: hardly anyone actually eats 100 grams of jam for breakfast. With bread, the fructose content would decrease drastically since usually much more bread than spread is consumed. In summary, the fructose content of a product is usually relative to the serving size. 

In addition to the quantity of food consumed, the individual's tolerance threshold to fructose can vary greatly. And even the personal tolerance threshold is not an absolute value; how much fructose a person tolerates also depends on the timeframe the fructose is consumed within and any other foods it is consumed with. 

As if the calculation for "what is fructose-free / what can I tolerate?" didn’t already have enough variables, we need to add yet another to the list: Mother Nature does not standardize her products, so her results are correspondingly variable, too.

Recorded fructose content of unprocessed foods provides us with guideline values, at best. Apples, for example, have medium to high fructose content and typically contain 5.7 grams of fruit sugar per 100 grams of apple. However, these values aren't absolute, as every apple is not the same. Depending on the type of apple and its maturity, the fructose content can vary quite a bit. Even two apples of the same kind could have a differing amounts of fructose per 100 grams. 

The fructose quantities displayed on Frusano products, such as "<0.2g," are the maximum amount of the natural distribution - we give the maximum measured value, plus a safety buffer.

If you'd like more details on sugar content within Frusano's products, they can be found here.