Breakfast cereals ‘contain more sugar than a jam doughnut’
Breakfast cereals marketed at children contain more sugar per serving than a jam doughnut, an investigation has found.
Health campaigners are calling for better labelling on foods containing high levels of salt, fat and sugar.
The figures highlighted the levels of sugar in some of Britain’s best-selling cereal brands.
Researchers discovered a Tesco jam doughnut contained 8.6g of sugar while 30g of Kellogg’s Frosties were laden with 11.1g of sugar.
Similarly, 30g servings of Nestlé Honey Cheerios, Kellogg’s Coco Pops, and Sugar Puffs contained 10.53g, 10.2g, and 10.5g respectively.
The investigation also showed that 30g bowl of Kellogg’s cornflakes has more salt than a bag of Walkers Ready Salted crisps.
The British Heart Foundation accused cereal manufacturers of misleading parents about high levels of salt, sugar and fat in their products.
It also claims companies have exploited loopholes on advertising regulations regarding junk food by targeting parents, and by using websites geared towards children.
The charity’s policy manager, Mubeen Bhutta, said: “We feel that more can and should be done to help children and adults identify foods that are high in salt, sugar and fat.
“We want to see a single labelling system introduced across all foods so that parents can make informed choices about what they are buying.
“I think parents would be very surprised that cereals, often advertised as having health benefits, contain more sugar than a doughnut.”
The charity is campaigning for a traffic light system on the packaging off all foods to help consumers identify goods which are less healthy.
Both Nestlé and Kellogg’s rejected the criticisms saying that their products are clearly labelled with guideline daily amounts of nutrients.
A Kellogg’s spokesman said: “The reality is a single serving of Frosties or Coco Pops has the same amount of sugar in it as glass of orange juice or a banana.
“It’s important to remember that a doughnut contains around 14 times the level of fat as a single bowl of Frosties.”
A Nestlé spokeswoman added: “On average cereals contribute less than 10 per cent of the average adult daily intake of sugars and less than 6 per cent of the average daily sugar intake in children.”
The row follows a recent warning by the Food Standards Agency that breakfast is the saltiest meal of the day for many Britons.
The FSA found that three quarters of consumers are unaware that bread, meat and cereals contribute most to their salt intake.
