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Morning has broken (your healthy diet)

29 April 2009

It’s pitched as the most important meal of the day, but with only 8 per cent of cereals getting a green light for healthy sugar levels, many Britons are waking up to poor nutrition, a new Which? report has uncovered*.

Adults and children have a hard job finding a healthy start to the day, as cereal companies continue to add large amounts of sugar to their top brands.

31 cereals out of the 100 looked at contained more than four teaspoons of sugar per recommended serving and only one of the 28 cereals specifically marketed to children was found not to be high in sugar (but was still high in salt)**.

Morrisons Choco Crackles topped the sweet mountain with more sugar per serving than a Cadbury’s Chocolate Flake***, followed closely by Kellogg’s Coco Pops Moons and Stars, Frosties and Ricicles which were over a third (37 per cent) pure sugar.

Many brands thought of as healthy, such as Kellogg’s All Bran, Bran Flakes and Special K did little to bowl over Which? researchers. Starting the day with Special K, for example, would be almost the sugar equivalent to waking up to a bowl of Tesco’s Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Ice Cream****.

The report Going Against the Grain, published today, analysed 100 leading UK cereals. Although sugar levels remained high, positive changes could be seen with reductions in salt content. Despite this, 100g of Tesco Special Flakes was still found to contain the same amount of salt as 100g of Walkers Ready Salted crisps*****.

Other issues included confusing labelling, and questionable health and nutrition claims allowing some companies to promote a wholesome image for their brand, while failing to emphasise the high sugar or salt content******.

Sue Davies, Chief Policy Adviser, Which? said:

“Breakfast is important, and some cereals deserve their healthy image, but most simply don’t. It’s especially shocking that almost all those targeted at children are less healthy. With such little choice, it’s a daily struggle for consumers.

“Cereal manufacturers need to wake up to the fact that people want to eat healthily and provide them with the means to do so by reducing sugar and salt levels and making labelling clearer. With over a billion pounds spent on cereals every year, it’s time they rose to the occasion. ”

For more information or a copy of Going Against the Grain, please contact Kate Turnbull 02077707582, or visit www.which.co.uk/cereals

Notes to Editor

 

* In January 2009, we bought 100 cereals from the main supermarkets. Products were chosen based on their current market share. We excluded hot cereals and mueslis from our research because, despite growth in sales in recent years, they remain a small percentage of the market overall. We looked at the amount of fat, saturates, sugar and salt that the 100 cereals contained and applied the Food Standard Agency’s (FSA) traffic light labelling system where possible, which uses red, amber and green symbols to show whether levels of these nutrients are high, medium or low. We also analysed the cereals using the FSA’s nutrient profiling scheme (see below), which determines whether products are a ‘healthier’ or ‘less-healthy’ choice and looked to see how they were promoted, including techniques targeted at children and any nutrition or health claims that are made on their behalf.

** Kellogg’s Rice Krispies have medium levels of sugar (10g per 100g), but remain high in salt (1.65g per 100g)

***Morrisons Choco Crackles – 17.8g sugar per serving / Cadbury’s Flake (32g) -17.7g sugar (ref - http://nutrition.cadbury.co.uk)

****Special K – 11g sugar per recommended serving / Tesco Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream – 11.6g sugar per serving (ref - www.tesco.com)

***** Tesco Special Flakes – 2.0g salt per 100g / Walkers Ready Salted Crisps – 0.5g salt per 25g bag (www.walkers.co.uk)

******New regulations should stop companies making health and nutrition claims that can’t be substantiated or for foods that are high in fats, sugar or salt. The regulations specify that criteria should be developed by the EU, based on advice from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The exact criteria for the regulations are still being discussed.

  • Which? research in 2006 (Cereal re-offenders) looked at 275 cereals and found that leading cereal manufacturers all too often make inappropriate use of ‘health claims’ on less healthy foods, heavily promote sugary cereals to children or fail to use clear, transparent front-of-pack labelling. We wanted to see how much progress has been made over the past three years. We found that there has been some improvement particularly in relation to reducing salt levels in the cereals. However, it can still be a struggle to find a healthy choice.
  • In 2007, the total UK cereals market (ready to eat and hot cereals) added up to £1.37bn (Mintel: Breakfast Cereals, UK, February 2008)
  • Which? has been campaigning for many years for governments and the food industry to do more to help consumers make healthy eating choices. Our research (Jan 2009) has shown that four out of five people are actively trying to make healthier choices, but there are still many barriers that make it difficult for them. For more information, please visit www.which.co.uk/hungry

Cereal offenders

Sugar: Top Ten Worst Offenders (per 100g)

  • Morrisons Choco Crackles (38.4g)
  • Kellogg’s Coco Pops Moons & Stars (37g)
  • Kellogg’s Frosties (37g)
  • Kellogg’s Ricicles (37g)
  • Sainsbury’s Choco Rice Pops (36g)
  • Tesco Choco Snaps (36g)
  • Nestle Cookie Crisp (35.3g)
  • Nestle Cheerios Honey (35.1g)
  • Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut (35g)
  • Nestle Nesquik (35g)

Salt: Top Ten Worst Offenders (per 100g)

  • Tesco Special Flakes (2.0g)
  • Kellogg’s Corn Flakes (1.8g)
  • Kellogg’s Honey Loops (1.8g)
  • Morrison’s Honey Nut Corn Flakes (1.8g)
  • Whole Earth Organic Corn Flakes (1.8g)
  • Kellogg’s Rice Krispies (1.65g)
  • Sainsbury’s Be Good To Yourself Balance (1.60g)
  • Tesco Corn Flakes (1.60g)
  • Kellogg’s Fruit and Fibre (1.4g)
  • Kellogg’s Bran Flakes / Sultana Bran (1.3g)

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