UK Supermarket Ready Meals Found to Contain up to Ten Teaspoons of Sugar

19 May 2014 --- Ready meals sold by UK supermarkets contain as much as 10 heaped teaspoons of sugar, a person’s entire recommended daily allowance, according to an investigation by consumer group Which? Under current government guidelines, the recommended daily sugar intake for an adult is 50g, but health experts found some meals contained more than this in a single portion.

Which? looked at the sugar content of 17 supermarket ready meals sold by Asda, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose. The worst meals for their sugar content were sweet and sour dishes, with Sainsbury’s chicken version logging 50.7g of sugar per pack (more than a can of Coca Cola) and Tesco’s Everyday Value version clocking in at 48.4g of sugar. Waitrose’s contained 38.9g. The chicken pad thai rice noodles from Tesco also contained high levels of sugar at 37.8g per portion.

“With rising obesity rates, it is shocking to find that ready meals contain more sugar than a chocolate bar,” said Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd. “This goes against the ethos of the Government’s responsibility deal with food businesses, part of which asked manufacturers to cut calories. We want the Government to set clear targets for calorie reductions as a priority as part of the responsibility deal.”

Meanwhile, a separate investigation, by the Sunday Times, revealed that some supermarket brands of sauce marketed for low salt and sugar content contain up to 38% more sugar and 52% more salt that declared on the label. According to the report, one product, Tesco reduced sugar and salt ketchup, was found to contain 14.8g sugar per 100g, compared with the 10.7g per 100g declared on the label, which is equivalent to nearly and extra teaspoonful of sugar.

Asda’s reduced sugar and salt baked beans contained 23% more sugar while Morrisons’ reduced salt and sugar ketchup contained 17% more than stated.

The Sunday Times commissioned 26 tests on a range of products and found that in nearly two-thirds the sugar or salt labels were higher than declared on the label. However, all but one of the tests reportedly fell within European Commission guidelines that give acceptable margins of error.

Earlier this year the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed the recommended sugar allowance should be halved to around five heaped teaspoons (around 25g) a day to help ease the obesity crisis, and separately, the UK’s chief medical officer Sally Davies said earlier this year that a tax may be put on calorie-laden food and drink to curb soaring levels of obesity.

Health experts want that high levels of sugar in everyday foods are contributing to health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and tooth decay.