Morning meals have excessive amounts of sugar: health group

MORNING meals such as waffles, pancakes and crepes sold in restaurants and supermarkets still contain excessive amounts of sugar despite their inclusion in the Government’s strategy to cut childhood obesity, according to a study.

Health campaign group Action on Sugar (AoS) is calling on restaurants, cafes and diners to “stop hiding nutrition information” by introducing mandatory labelling and reformulation of the food they sell.

It follows its findings that a Breakfast Club cafe salted caramel banoffee pancake contained 1,800 calories, which would take more than eight hours of walking to burn off, while a four cheese crepe from My Old Dutch has more calories and salt than three McDonald’s Big Macs. AoS found a Mr Pretzels chocolate pretzel contains 930 calories and a Creams Cafe Oreo waffle with gelato contains 19 teaspoons of sugar.

AoS called on the Government to enforce mandatory colour-coded nutrition and calorie labelling on menus and online, noting that the products it surveyed were included in the Morning Goods category selected for the strategy to tackle childhood obesity. It also said manufacturers should be required to make the products with “far less” sugar and salt, which was “easily achievable”.

AoS surveyed 191 products from restaurants, cafes and takeaways including 94 crepes, 12 pancakes, 16 pretzels and 69 waffles and their toppings. Only 70 of the products provided full nutrition information in store or online.