The High St lunch meal deals with 30 teaspoons of sugar

MEAL deals can contain the equivalent of 30 teaspoons of sugar – four times the maximum an adult should eat in one day.

The sandwich, snack and drink offers are promoted as an easy way to buy lunch on the go.

But a survey has found that some shops offer potentially unhealthy high-sugar choices.

For example, one combination from WH Smith, of a tuna and sweetcorn sandwich, a 500ml bottle of Mountain Dew Citrus Blast and a bag of Skittles Crazy Sours, adds up to the equivalent of 30 teaspoons of sugar.

And a chilli chicken wrap from Morrisons, combined with a 500ml Relentless Passion Punch energy drink and a millionaire’s shortbread, is not far behind –

‘Tackle this head on’

with the equivalent of 29 teaspoons of sugar.

Health campaigners say the resulting sugar overload fuels obesity among buyers who work at desks most of the day.

The survey was conducted by Action on Sugar, which said some of the deals add up to the equivalent of eating a 1lb bag of sugar every working week.

The campaign group wants the Government to stop retailers using price promotions such as meal deals to encourage the consumption of high-sugar products.

It found that 72 per cent of meal deal drinks sold at Morrisons are high or red under the traffic light labelling system in terms of sugar per drink. Some drinks alone con- tain up to 70g of sugar – more than 17 teaspoons – when sold in large 500ml portions as part of a deal.

Action on Sugar said high-sugar drinks and snacks should be removed from meal deals if retailers want customers to make healthy choices.

Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary University of London and the group’s chairman, said: ‘Eat- ing too much sugar is linked to obesity ... diabetes and tooth decay. It may seem like it’s a good deal for our wallets, but some meal deal choices are a bad deal for our health.’

Campaign manager Jenny Rosborough said: ‘It is time the Government ensured that price promotions including meal deals, are geared towards healthier options. If our Government cares about our nation’s health, they need to tackle this head on.’

The British Retail Consortium said: ‘Customers have never had a wider range of healthy, fresh and affordable options when grocery shopping.’

It added that any measures by Government to improve the health of the nation’s diet should go beyond supermarkets to all food outlets and manufacturers.