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Natural sweeteners is the everyday name for sweeteners made from plants, tree sap or nectar: honey, maple syrup, molasses, sorghum syrup, agave, dates, stevia and monk fruit. This natural sweeteners list gives USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy values for the ones USDA lists and quotes FDA on the rest, including what FDA says about the word natural itself. It does not rank them. For sugars on food labels in general, see our guide to types of sugar.
Peptide Labs does not sell foods. This article is general nutrition information, not medical advice.
Key Takeaways
- FDA says it has not engaged in rulemaking to establish a formal definition for the term natural; it follows a longstanding policy instead.
- In USDA SR Legacy data, a tablespoon of honey lists 17.2 grams of sugars and a tablespoon of the maple entry lists 12.1 grams.
- FDA counts sugars from syrups and honey as added sugars, so these sweeteners show a percent Daily Value for added sugars on the Nutrition Facts label.
- FDA has no questions about GRAS conclusions for certain high-purity steviol glycosides and for sweeteners from Luo Han Guo fruit.
- CDC says honey can contain the bacteria that cause botulism and should not be given to infants.
What FDA says about the word natural
FDA explains its position on a page titled Use of the Term Natural on Food Labeling. FDA says it “has not engaged in rulemaking to establish a formal definition for the term” natural, but that it has “a longstanding policy concerning the use of” the word in human food labeling.
Under that policy, FDA says it “has considered the term” natural “to mean that nothing artificial or synthetic (including all color additives regardless of source) has been included in, or has been added to, a food that would not normally be expected to be in that food.”
FDA adds that the policy “was not intended to address food production methods, such as the use of pesticides,” and that FDA’s policy did not explicitly address “food processing or manufacturing methods, such as thermal technologies, pasteurization, or irradiation.” So the word natural on a sweetener package is not a term FDA has formally defined. On this page, natural sweeteners is used only as the common name for the group, not as an FDA category.
Natural sweeteners list with USDA values per serving
The table lists each sweetener at the household portion USDA gives for it in SR Legacy: a tablespoon for honey and the syrups, and a teaspoon for agave and maple sugar, because USDA lists no tablespoon portion for those two entries. The percent Daily Value uses FDA’s 50 grams for added sugars, since FDA counts sugars from syrups and honey as added sugars.
| Sweetener (USDA FDC ID) | Serving | Calories | Carbohydrate | Total sugars (% DV added sugars) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honey (169640) | 1 tbsp (21 g) | 64 | 17.3 g | 17.2 g (34%) |
| Syrups, maple (169661) | 1 tbsp (20 g) | 52 | 13.4 g | 12.1 g (24%) |
| Molasses (168820) | 1 tbsp (20 g) | 58 | 14.9 g | 14.9 g (30%) |
| Syrups, sorghum (169662) | 1 tbsp (21 g) | 61 | 15.7 g | 15.7 g (31%) |
| Sweetener, syrup, agave (170277) | 1 tsp (6.9 g) | 21 | 5.3 g | 4.7 g (9%) |
| Sugars, maple (169658) | 1 tsp (3 g) | 11 | 2.7 g | 2.5 g (5%) |
Among the tablespoon rows, USDA lists honey with the most sugars, 17.2 grams, and the maple entry with the fewest, 12.1 grams. Molasses and sorghum syrup sit between them in USDA data, at 14.9 and 15.7 grams. The agave and maple sugar rows are per teaspoon, so the per-100 gram table below, from the same USDA release, is the like-for-like view.
How the sugar profiles differ
Per 100 grams, SR Legacy breaks total sugars into sucrose, glucose and fructose for most of these foods. The split differs a great deal: in USDA data the maple entry is mostly sucrose, honey and the agave entry are mostly glucose and fructose, and molasses has all three in larger shares. Dates are whole fruit rather than a syrup; USDA lists two common varieties.
| Food (USDA FDC ID) | Amount | Water | Calories | Sucrose | Glucose | Fructose | Total sugars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honey (169640) | 100 g | 17.1 g | 304 | 0.9 g | 35.8 g | 40.9 g | 82.1 g |
| Syrups, maple (169661) | 100 g | 32.4 g | 260 | 58.3 g | 1.6 g | 0.5 g | 60.5 g |
| Molasses (168820) | 100 g | 21.9 g | 290 | 29.4 g | 11.9 g | 12.8 g | 74.7 g |
| Sweetener, syrup, agave (170277) | 100 g | 22.9 g | 310 | 0.0 g | 12.4 g | 55.6 g | 68.0 g |
| Dates, medjool (168191) | 100 g | 21.3 g | 277 | 0.5 g | 33.7 g | 31.9 g | 66.5 g |
| Dates, deglet noor (171726) | 100 g | 20.5 g | 282 | 23.8 g | 19.9 g | 19.6 g | 63.4 g |
In USDA data, agave lists 55.6 grams of fructose per 100 grams and honey lists 40.9 grams, while the maple entry lists 58.3 grams of sucrose. USDA SR Legacy has no entry for date sugar, and none for the palm-sap sugar covered in our coconut sugar guide.
Stevia and Luo Han Guo in FDA's words
FDA groups stevia and Luo Han Guo sweeteners as high-intensity sweeteners from plants and fruit. FDA says the agency “has no questions about the GRAS conclusions for three types of plant and fruit-based high-intensity sweeteners,” where GRAS means “generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by qualified experts” in FDA’s wording.
For stevia, FDA says steviol glycosides “are natural constituents of the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) Bertoni, a plant native to parts of South America” and that they are “reported to be 200 to 400 times sweeter than table sugar.” FDA’s GRAS reviews cover “high purity (95% minimum purity) steviol glycosides,” and FDA handles the whole leaf differently, as the FAQ below quotes.
For the second group, FDA says Siraitia grosvenorii Swingle is “commonly known as Luo Han Guo or” monk fruit and “is a plant native to Southern China.” FDA says these sweeteners are “reported to be 100 to 250 times sweeter than sugar,” depending on their mogroside content, and that FDA “has not questioned the notifiers’ GRAS conclusions” for them. USDA SR Legacy has no Luo Han Guo entry.
What USDA lists for stevia
USDA SR Legacy has one stevia entry, FDC 170679, which USDA describes as an herbal sweetener from the stevia leaf, with a single portion of one package. The table shows the values USDA lists.
| Sweetener (USDA FDC ID) | Serving | Calories | Carbohydrate | Total sugars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stevia sweetener, SR Legacy herbal entry (170679) | 1 package (1 g) | 0 | 1.0 g | 0.0 g |
| Stevia sweetener, SR Legacy herbal entry (170679) | 100 g | 0 | 100.0 g | 0.0 g |
How FDA labels these sweeteners
Under 21 CFR 101.9, added sugars include “sugars from syrups and honey,” so the sugars in honey, molasses, agave and the maple entry count as added sugars when FDA’s rule applies. FDA’s consumer page says single-ingredient sugars and syrups “list the percent Daily Value for added sugars” and are labeled that way “so that it does not look like more sugars have been added to the product”.
FDA’s honey guidance, which FDA describes as nonbinding, defines honey as “a thick, sweet, syrupy substance that bees make as food from the nectar of plants or secretions of living parts of plants and store in honeycombs.” FDA’s guidance adds: “You do not have to declare the floral source of honey on the label.” Our guide to types of honey covers the honey entries in more depth.
For maple, the FDA standard of identity at 21 CFR 168.140 describes maple sirup as made from “the sap of the maple tree” and sets “not less than 66 percent by weight of soluble solids derived solely from such sap.” FDA permits the use of sugar alcohols, which FDA calls “another class of sweeteners,” as sugar substitutes, and names erythritol among its examples.
Honey and infants: what CDC says
CDC’s botulism page says: “Honey can contain the bacteria that cause botulism.” CDC also says: “Do not give honey or products made with it, including honey pacifiers, to infants.” That CDC advice covers honey in every form on this list.
Related sweetener guides
- Syrups and sugars: our guides to agave, molasses, honey vs sugar and foods high in sugar.
- Sugar substitutes: the guides to allulose, erythritol and stevia.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has FDA defined the word natural on food labels?
No formal definition. FDA says it has not engaged in rulemaking to establish a formal definition for the term, and that under a longstanding policy it has considered natural to mean nothing artificial or synthetic has been added that would not normally be expected in the food.
Is whole-leaf stevia permitted as a sweetener in the U.S.?
FDA says: “The use of stevia leaf and crude stevia extracts is not considered GRAS, and their import into the U.S. is not permitted for use as sweeteners.”
How sweet is Luo Han Guo compared with sugar?
FDA says sweeteners from Siraitia grosvenorii Swingle fruit are reported to be 100 to 250 times sweeter than sugar, depending on the mogroside content.
Does honey count as added sugar on the label?
Yes. Under 21 CFR 101.9, added sugars include sugars from syrups and honey, and FDA says single-ingredient sugars and syrups list the percent Daily Value for added sugars.
Can babies have honey?
No. CDC says: “Do not give honey or products made with it, including honey pacifiers, to infants.”
Does USDA list date sugar?
No. USDA SR Legacy, the April 2018 release, has no date sugar entry; it lists the medjool and deglet noor entries for whole dates, shown per 100 grams in the table above.
Questions about a label? Contact us or read our Buyer’s Guide. Food comes first; follow the label and ask a healthcare provider before starting a supplement, especially if you take medicines, are pregnant or have a health condition. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Last reviewed October 2026.
Related guides: Starchy Foods List: USDA Carbohydrate and Starch Values, Types of Sugar: What the FDA Label and USDA Data Show, Stevia Side Effects: Is Stevia Safe, and How Does It Compare to Sugar?, Monk Fruit Sweetener: Is It Safe, What’s in It and Monk Fruit vs Stevia.