Consumers who choose to start the day with one of the new generation cereals found on the supermarket shelves today might as well be eating a slab of chocolate cake, claims UK independent body, the Food Commission, this week.
According to an article published in The Food Magazine, the latest generation of breakfast cereals are as sweet and fatty as biscuits or cake. The Commission carried out a survey of the ten top products from reputable companies, including Quaker's Harvest Crunch, Jordans' Country Crisp, Mornflake's Triple Chocolate Crisp and similar products from the leading supermarkets. Using the manufacturers' own declarations of the levels of sugar, saturated fat and total fat, the Commission claims that the products were nutritionally equivalent to chocolate chip cookies or chocolate cake.
"We are all encouraged to think of breakfast cereals as healthy foods, and health promoters tell us to eat more of them and to cut back on sweet, fatty foods like cakes, pastries and biscuits," said Food Commission director Dr Tim Lobstein. "But now we find that some cereals are undermining the message. The products are stacked on the supermarket shelves along with healthier breakfast cereals, but they do not belong there. They should be in among the biscuits and cakes."
According to the survey, cereal products contained fat levels of up to 20 per cent (with saturated fat up to 12 per cent) and sugar levels of up to 30 per cent. In comparison, chocolate chip cookies were 24 per cent fat (with 12 per cent saturated fat) and 22 per cent sugar. Chocolate cake boasted 10 per cent fat (with 6 per cent saturated fat) and 34 per cent sugar.
Results of the survey clearly encourage us to believe the notion that the food manufacturer is leading the consumer astray. However, after closer inspection, we can note that many of the food products under investigation clearly stated the contents of the product on the front of the packaging, and of course evidently on the ingredients listing.
Take the Marks & Spencer Triple Chocolate Flake - according to the Commission survey this product contains more sugar than chocolate and a 50g serving gives you over 8g of fat, but written in bold, under the image, are the words 'Triple Chocolate Flake'. The message is clear. It is difficult to see how this can be perceived as encouraging the consumer to eat unhealthy foods under the guise of a healthy product.
Independent food industry surveys are essential in providing a counter balance to the immense power that the industry wields. But should we not bear in mind, admittedly a hotly debate topic in itself, the free will of the consumer?