Comparison of Different Breakfast Cereals Sue Davies, Principal Policy Adviser Which? – the UK’S Consumer Association

Comparison of different breakfast cereals Sue Davies, Principal Policy Adviser Which? – the UK’s consumer association 11 November 2004 Which? research • We bought 100 breakfast cereals produced by the five biggest manufacturers • Compared fibre, sugar, salt and saturated fat content using the Food Standards Agency’s guidelines for what’s ‘a little’ and ‘a lot’ • Asked a dietitian and public health nutritionist to identify the worst offenders and healthier options • Also looked at a range of own-brand cereals and a variety of on-the-go cereal products 11 November 2004 Breakfast cereals – market size Volume (000 tonnes) 2002 2003 UK 405 400 France 100 103 Germany 148 149 Italy 39 42 Spain 40 42 Ireland 32 33 Belgium 20 21 Netherlands 24 25 Source: Leatherhead Food International’s Global Food Markets database. 11 November 2004 Findings Sugar • Over 85% contained ‘a lot’ of sugar • This included all but one marketed to children • 9 of those marketed to children had 40% sugar or more 11 November 2004 Findings Salt • 40% contained ‘a lot’ • 18 out of 28 marketed to children contained ‘a lot’ • Just 3 of these met the criteria for ‘a little’ • Kellogg’s All Bran, Quaker Oat Krunchies and Nestle Golden Grahams all contained around 1g per suggested serving size 11 November 2004 Findings Fat • 9 contained ‘a lot’ of saturated fat • 13 listed hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil • 10 of these were marketed to children Fibre • 58% were high in fibre 11 November 2004 Worst offenders - key Fibre Salt Sugar Saturated fat 6g/100g 0.25g/100g 2g/100g or more (3) or less (1) or less (1) 5g/100g or more (2) of 3g to <1.25g/ <10g/ saturated fat <6g/100g 100g but 100g but >0.25g/100g >2g/100g <3g/100g 1.25g/100g 10g/100g or or more2 more(2) Trans fat 1g salt per contains average portion hydrogenated (16% daily or partially recommended hydrogenated salt intake) oil or fat (1) ‘a little’ according to FSA guidelines for how much is in food (2) ‘a lot’ according to FSA guidelines (3) ‘high fibre’ according to FSA guidelines. 11 November 2004 Worst offenders: cereals marketed to children Nestle Lion Cereal Kellogg’s Frosties Turbos, Nestle Cookie Crisp, Nestle Golden Grahams Kellogg’s Frosties Chocolate, Kellogg’s Hunny B’s, Nestle Cinnamon Grahams, Nestle Honey Nut Cheerios Kellogg’s Bart Simpson’s Eat My Shorts, Kellogg’s Choco Corn Flakes, Kellogg’s Coco Pops, Kellogg’s Corn Pops, Kellogg’s Frosties, Kellogg’s Rice Krispies, Nestle Golden Nuggetts Nestle Cheerios 11 November 2004 Worst offenders: adult cereals Kellogg’s Crispix, Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Red Nestle Clusters Kellogg’s All Bran, Quaker Oat Krunchies Kellogg’s Cornflakes Banana Crunch, Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Clusters Milk Chocolate Curls, Jordan’s Country Crisp (four nut combo, real strawberry, whole raspberry), Jordan’s Organic Four Berry Crisp, Jordan’s Organic Crunchy Raisins and Coconut, Quaker Harvest Nut Crunch Collection 11 November 2004 Action needed: • A simplified labelling scheme to help easily identify foods high in fat, sugar and salt • Manufacturers, retailers and caterers to reduce fat, sugar and salt levels in foods • Nutrient profiles for foods that can carry health/ nutrition claims or be voluntarily fortified • Restrictions on the advertising of foods high in fat, sugar and salt during children’s viewing times 11 November 2004 This paper was produced for a meeting organized by Health & Consumer Protection DG and represents the views of its author on the subject. These views have not been adopted or in any way approved by the Commission and should not be relied upon as a statement of the Commission's or Health & Consumer Protection DG's views. The European Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper, nor does it accept responsibility for any use made thereof. .

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