This is how much sugar is in your favourite breakfast cereals in South Africa

 ·30 Nov 2016

A new survey conducted by World Action on Salt and Health (WASH) has revealed a ‘shocking’ difference in levels of salt and sugar found in comparative branded breakfast cereals around the world.

The research found that over half of cereals (58%) contained high levels of sugar (over 22.5g/100g) – representing nearly six teaspoons of sugar per 100g.

The survey selected 19 products manufactured by Kellogg’s and Nestle/General Mills from 29 countries for comparison.

It found that  55% of the cereals surveyed contained half the daily recommended intake of free sugars of a 3 year old (15g/day) in one serving.

Both manufacturers had cereals which contained high levels of salt and sugar, with Kellogg’s cereals featuring in the top five most sugary and saltiest cereals surveyed.

Top 5 cereals with the highest sugar:

cereal1

Top 5 cereals with the lowest sugar:

cereal2

The survey also revealed a variation in salt and sugar contents of the same breakfast cereal sold in different countries.

Kellogg’s Honey Smacks in Mexico (57g per 100g) had 25% more sugar than the same cereal in Belgium, Spain, Morocco, Norway, Qatar, Kuwait and UAE (43g/100g).

Kellogg’s Cornflakes sold in India which contained the highest level of salt (1.93g/100g) had 46% more salt than the same product in Argentina and Brazil (1.04g/100g), WASH said.

Top 5 cereals brands with the highest salt content include:

cereal3

WASH called for all food manufacturers to universally reduce the salt and sugar content of their products to help achieve the global WHO maximum target of 5g salt per adult per day and 25g free sugars per day.

Top 5 cereals with the lowest salt content were:

cereal4

Professor Graham MacGregor, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Queen Mary University of London and Chairman of WASH said: “It is shocking that breakfast cereals still contain extremely high levels of salt and sugar. Kellogg’s and Nestle are the two main global manufacturers of breakfast cereal and they need to demonstrate that they can act in their customers’ interest to reduce sugar and salt levels to help save lives”.

Find the full survey here

In 2015, BusinessTech provided a breakdown of the sugar content in breakfast cereals commonly found on the shelves of country’s major retailers.

The cereals listed below were ranked according to their sugar content, which is used as the basis to determine the least healthy option.

The research was excluded All-bran and High-fibre bran as it focused on cereals specifically marketed to the youth.

All measures were based on 100 grams of cereal, excluding milk and added sugar.

Cereal comparison

Cereal Energy (kJ) Fat (g) Sodium (mg) Carbohydrates (g) Of which is sugar (g)
Kellogg’s Coco Pops 1525 1.5 699 83 36.0
Kellogg’s Strawberry Pops 1485 0.9 722 82 33.0
Bokomo Choco Scoops 1465 1.4 312 75 31.8
Nestlé Bar One 1683 5.7 162 75 30.0
Nestlé Milo 1625 4.5 98 73 29.3
Kellogg’s Coco Pops Crunchers 1612 2.5 310 78 29.0
Bokomo Choc Bitz 1813 17.1 166 60 27.0
Bokomo Frosted Flakes 1502 0.6 720 81 24.9
Bokomo Honey Crunchies 1398 1.2 3 69 23.7
Kellogg’s Frosties 1596 0.4 647 73 22.0
Bokomo Otees 1456 4.4 405 69 22.0
Jungle Oatso Easy 1640 9.0 393 62 14.0
Bokomo ProNutro 1565 7.3 246 56 14.0
Kellogg’s Corn Flakes 1351 1.0 623 70 8.0
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies 467 1.5 650 25 2.0

Kellogg’s Rice Krispies came out at the top in the findings, with a mere 2 grams of sugar per 100 grams of cereal. However, this cereal is commonly eaten with added sugar to taste, which is not included in the tally.

This is common trend among cereals which one usually adds sugar to (such as Corn Flakes and Jungle Oatso Easy).

Coco the Monkey packed the most sugar with 36 grams per 100 grams of cereal.

The recommended portion size for a cereal breakfast is 30g, thus more than a third (11g) of a single portion of Coco Pops is sugar.

Close behind the chocolate rice pops was Strawberry pops carrying 33 grams of sugar per 100 grams, with Bokomo’s Choco ranking third with 31.8 grams of sugar.

Read: These are the unhealthiest cereals for your kids

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