On a U.S. label using the standard 50 g added-sugars Daily Value, divide the added-sugar grams by 50 and multiply by 100. This checks the label reference. It does not determine your individual dietary needs.
A small arithmetic check
An invented drink with 8 g added sugars per bottle contributes 8 ÷ 50 × 100 = 16% DV for the full bottle. If you drink half of that same uniform product, 4 g contributes 8%. Two bottles would have 16 g and 32% before display rounding.
Choose the correct sugar line
If the drink also lists 11 g total sugars, do not use 11 g in an added-sugar calculation. The example’s remaining 3 g sits outside the added-sugars category. A total-sugars figure alone is insufficient to work out added sugars because it does not reveal how that total is divided.
The percentage is a comparison tool
Put the gram amount and portion beside the percentage. A tiny serving may appear modest as a percentage while several servings add up. Conversely, one larger bottle may have fewer servings than a container of another size. Compare the amount you actually intend to drink rather than matching package graphics.
The FDA source linked below explains the added-sugar reference and label category. The example arithmetic is original. If the restaurant source does not publish added sugars, keep that field unavailable instead of filling it with total sugars. A neat percentage is not worth creating unsupported data.
Sources and example boundaries
- FDA: added sugars
Added sugars are part of total sugars, not an additional amount to add.
All food figures and prices in the worked example are invented to explain the method. They are not restaurant nutrition, tested recipes, shopping prices or personal dietary advice. Use the current label for the product you actually have.