Walmart’s Great Value Mango-Pineapple Drink Mix

Some people avoid sugar to lose a few pounds. Others do it because their life depends on it. TINA.org reader Ed T. falls into the second category.

“As a diabetic I have to locate foods that use alternatives to sugar and stevia is one of the good ones,” Ed said in an email.

So when he saw the words “made with stevia extract” on the front of Walmart’s Great Value mango-pineapple drink mix, he coolly tossed the box into the shopping cart. It wasn’t until he got home that he looked at the ingredients on the back of the box.

“Had I not looked into the ingredients before I made it I could have been in for a deadly sugar spike,” Ed said. “First ingredient is sugar.”

Indeed it is.

Walmart’s drink mix is not the only stevia-sweetened food product that seems to say one thing on the front of the package and another on the back. Like Ed did, make sure you let the ingredients list have the last word.

Find more of our coverage on stevia here.