Parents being misled by ‘healthy fruit snacks’ packaging, new research finds
New research by Action on Sugar has revealed that there is a huge amount of hidden sugars in ‘healthy’ fruit snacks, which are aimed at children.
It found that over three quarters (85%) of products surveyed contain more sugars than Haribo Starmix (47g/100g) confectionary per 100g.
Action on Sugar has claimed these fruit snacks are contained in “grossly misleading packaging” as they claim to contribute to ‘1 of your 5’ portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
The research notes that this conflicts with the new school food standards, which does not permit schools to offer children these products because they are categorised as ‘confectionary’.
Katharine Jenner, campaign director at Action on Sugar, said: “Parents find it hard enough to know what is ‘healthy’ without food manufacturers confusing matters with misleading claims.
“Whole, unprocessed fruit is healthier than processed fruit snacks and fruit juice drinks, as it contains vitamins, minerals, water and fibre, and does not cause the devastating tooth decay we see in young children today.”
Kawther Hashem, nutritionist at Action on Sugar, said: “To eat the same number of grams of sugars in a processed fruit snack (18g) your child will have to eat about 240g of strawberries – that’s equivalent to a whole punnet!”
Graham MacGregor, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Queen Mary University of London and Chairman of Action on Sugar, called for the government to take action:
“The new Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt MP, must set sugar reduction targets across the whole of the food industry to gradually reduce the amount of sugar they add to our food. If the food industry does not respond then punitive taxes on these unhealthy products need to be imposed.”
Peter McGrath, vice chair of LACA, said: “If food companies market their products as healthy when they contain high levels of sugar this is definitely a cause for concern.
"Children need a balanced diet and vast amounts of sugar are not conducive to this. School meals provide a nutritionally healthy diet while at school and snacks aimed at children should seek to compliment this.”