Recently, many Shanghai consumers have discovered a new thing when purchasing milk tea, coffee and other beverages - some beverage introduction pages have added labels with the words "Nutritional Choice ABCD". Enlarge the corresponding level letters to remind consumers of the nutritional status of the beverage. In April of this year, in order to help the public choose healthy food, the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission launched the "first batch of nutrition and health guidance pilot projects", including a pilot program for graded labeling of "nutrition selection" for beverages. This is the first time in China that a beverage nutrition grading label has been introduced. So, how are beverages graded? How should consumers refer to the grading situation? With these questions in mind, a reporter from Science and Technology Daily interviewed relevant experts. Using the lowest level as the final standard, this classification is mainly based on the content of four components in the beverage, namely non milk derived sugars, saturated fats, trans fats, and non sugar sweeteners. According to the content of each hundred milliliters in the beverage, it is divided into four levels from high to low: ABCD, and the recommended level decreases step by step. For example, beverages rated as A-grade shall not contain more than 0.5 grams of non milk derived sugars per 100 milliliters, 0.75 grams of saturated fatty acids, 0.3 grams of trans fatty acids, and non sugar sweeteners shall not be used. If a beverage has a non dairy sugar content of no less than 11.5 grams per 100 milliliters, a saturated fat content of no less than 2.5 grams, or a trans fat content greater than 0.3 grams, it will be rated as the lowest D-grade. Zang Jiajie, Director of the Nutrition and Health Department of the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, introduced that the four ingredients used in this classification require moderate or limited intake. In the evaluation of the level, the lowest level is used as the final overall level, and the worst performing one among the four ingredients is used as the final level evaluation basis. For example, in a certain beverage, the non milk derived sugar content is 5.7 grams per 100 milliliters, with a grade of C; The saturated fat content is 1 gram/100 milliliters, with a grade of B; The trans fat content is 0.2 g/100 ml, grade A, and no non sugar sweeteners have been added. The final rating of the beverage will be based on the worst performing factor, which is the non milk derived sugar content, and will be rated as C. Divide specific indicator data into four different levels of components, mainly referring to existing relevant standards. Taking non milk derived sugars as an example, there are three classification boundaries for this classification, namely 0.5 g/100 mL, 5 g/100 mL, and 11.5 g/100 mL. According to Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of the Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center, the current national standard for pre packaged foods in China (GB 28050-2011) defines 0.5 grams per 100 milliliters as "sugar free", which is classified as A-grade standard for non milk derived sugars; 5 grams/100 milliliters is the limit specified in the national standard that can be classified as "low sugar"; 11.5g/100ml is the boundary for "high sugar" in the Chinese Dietary Guidelines for Residents (2022). In addition, to avoid "accidental harm" to milk, sugar is classified as non lactose sugar in this classification, in order to exclude lactose contained in milk. In this classification, the A-level standard also implements a "one vote veto system" for non sugar sweeteners. As long as the beverage contains non sugar sweeteners, it cannot be rated as A-level. Introduction by Ruan Guangfeng,