Supermarket meal deals contain same sugar ‘as 79 chocolate fingers’

Lunchtime meal deals sold by supermarkets and retailers contain up to 30 teaspoons of sugar – the same amount as is in 79 chocolate fingers and four times the daily maximum intake for an adult.

Campaigners called for supermarkets to remove all “high sugar” drinks and confectionery from popular meal deal promotions.

The study from Action on Sugar found that seven out of ten meal deal drinks sold in Morrisons are ranked high (red) in sugar, while the meal combination containing the highest amount of sugar is from Whsmith, which includes a sandwich plus the option of a Mountain Dew Citrus Blast 500ml drink and a bag of Skittles Crazy Sours. The study found that if someone was to consume this meal deal every day over a working week, this would equate to 150 teaspoons of sugar – more than a typical 1lb bag.

Graham Macgregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary University of London and chairman of Action on Sugar, said: “Eating too much sugar is linked to obesity, type 2 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.

“Manufacturers and retailers have a responsibility to their customer’s health.”

Some drinks alone contain up to 70g of sugar and are frequently offered in 500ml portions, which equates to two servings, despite being sold as part of a lunch meal. Some retailers, including Whsmith, do not include fresh fruit in a meal deal.

Nutritionist Kawther Hashem, a researcher at Action on Sugar, said: “These excessivelyhighsugarcombos can have a detrimental effect on people’s health, particularly if eaten daily. It is staggering that by just making simple swaps at lunchtime, you can reduce your sugar intake by a massive 29 teaspoons of sugar.

“Often it is the drinks included in the meal deals which are extremely high in sugar. The majority of the retailers have more high sugar drinks as part of meal deal promotions than lower sugar drinks; this is not giving consumers enough healthier choices.

“We strongly urge retailers to replace these with lower or no sugar options.”

Action on Sugar, surveyed meal deal promotions in Whsmith, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, M&S, Boots and The Co-operative. A spokeswoman for Whsmith said: “Our meal deal is incredibly popular and contains a number of healthy eating options.”

A spokesman for Morrisons said: “We offer thousands of meal deal combinations, many of which include lowsugar and sugar-free drink options.”