Kellogg’s and other manufacturers told to remove misleading ‘no added sugar’ claims

The food industry watchdog Foodwatch filed the complaints against products on sale in the Netherlands which claimed that they had no added sugar, despite using other sweeteners such as concentrated sugar beet syrup.

Two of the complaints related to Kellogg’s cereals: Crunchy Muesli with Apricot and Pumpkin and Muesli with Almonds, Cashews and Cocos which contain respectively 14% and 15% date paste. According to the European Union’s Nutrition and Health Claims Register a no added sugar claim can only be used if the product contains no sugar or no other ingredient used as a sweetener.

Other products to have the complaints upheld are:

• Dutch supermarket Albert Heijn’s Rinse apple syrup which the main ingredient is concentrated beet juice and contains 61% sugars.
• The UK company Urban Fruit’s strawberry sweets which are sweetened with apple juice.
• UK’s Cawston Press tomato juice which contains glucose
• Hipp’s baby biscuits which contain 28% apple juice concentrate