School lunchboxes with as much sugar as TEN doughnuts

By FIONA MACRAE FOR THE DAILY MAIL
Updated:

The food in a child's lunchbox can contain as much sugar as ten doughnuts, research shows.

A snapshot survey by consumer watchdog Which? found that a packed lunch made up of five seemingly healthy items, including cheese and biscuits and fruit juice, contained 60g of sugar.

This equates to 12 teaspoons, making the meal as sugary as 10 McDonald's 'sugar donuts', or nearly a pint of Coca-Cola.

School lunchbox full of junk food (file picture)

Research by Which? found that a child's lunchbox can contain as much as 60g of sugar

Among the worst offenders in the Which? lunchbox was Robinson's Fruit Shoot orange juice.

Alarmingly, a small 200ml bottle contains 23g of sugar, or almost five teaspoons, giving a five-year-old boy more than a quarter of his recommended sugar intake in one go.

The sample lunch also contained Fruit Factory Fruit Strings, which contain three different types of sugar, totalling 13.7g, or almost three teaspoons per serving.

Robinson's Fruit Shoot orange juice
Fruit Factory Fruit Strings

Robinson's Fruit Shoot orange juice (left) contains 23g of sugar, while the Fruit Factory Fruit Strings is nearly as sugary with 13.7g

The third 'lunchtime baddie', a Munch Bunch Double Up fromage frais, was also found to be low in fruit but high in sugar, with more than two teaspoons per small pot.

The fourth lunchbox item, a Frosties Cereal & Milk Bar, was found to be almost one-third sugar. The sole savoury item was Dairylea Lunchables Ham 'n' Cheese Crackers.

One pack serves up 1.8g of salt - almost two-thirds of a five-year-old's daily ration. It also contains 2.8g of sugar, taking the lunchbox total to 59.9g - or 12 teaspoons.

Frosties Cereal & Milk Bar

The Frosties Cereal & Milk Bar is almost one-third sugar

A spokesman for Robinsons said it makes a low-sugar version of the drink and packs contain clear nutritional information to allow parents to make 'an informed choice'.

Nestle said its Munch Bunch range was high in calcium and protein and its packaging is clearly labelled.

Kellogg's said its Frosties cereal bars are a low-fat alternative to chocolate.

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