High street chains are selling iced coffees laced with more sugar than a Mars bar or can of Coke
Chain stores sell iced coffee with more sugar than a Mars bar or can of Coke
- Health advice from the NHS: You should not exceed 30g of free sugar per day
Retail chains sell iced coffee with more sugar than a Mars bar or can of cola, research shows.
Drinking even a single cooling frappe or Frappuccino from some outlets would exceed the total maximum recommended daily sugar intake for an adult.
Due to a loophole, they are not subject to the sugar tax on soft drinks, which is intended to combat the obesity epidemic.
NHS health advice suggests a maximum of 30g – or about seven teaspoons of free sugar – per day.
However, a Starbucks caramel Frappuccino with semi-skimmed milk contained 48.5 g of sugar, which is equivalent to 12 teaspoons. A Caffe Nero cream of Belgian chocolate and hazelnut frappe contained 44.5 g of sugar – equivalent to 11 teaspoons.
NHS health advice suggests a maximum of 30g – or about seven teaspoons of free sugar – per day
However, a Starbucks caramel Frappuccino with semi-skimmed milk contained 48.5 g of sugar – equivalent to 12 teaspoons (file photo)
And at Costa, a chocolate fudge brownie frappe mocha with oat milk had 42.6 g sugar – 10.5 tsp.
For comparison, a standard 51 g Mars chocolate bar contains 31 g of sugar, which is equivalent to 7.5 teaspoons. And a 330 ml can of Coca-Cola contains 35 g of sugar – 8.5 tsp.
Even the simple coffee-flavored frappes from the chains are super sweet. For example, a Costa Coffee frappe with skimmed milk contains 21.3g of sugar.
Labeling rules require restaurant chains with more than 250 employees to display calorie labeling, but this does not include sugar content.
Which? nutritionist Shefalee Loth said: ‘Our analysis of the sugar content in iced coffee blends shows that people are unknowingly consuming far more sugar than they realize, with potentially detrimental effects on their health.
Main chains need to take more responsibility and reduce the excessive sugar content of some of their drinks to protect people’s health.
“When buying an ice-cold drink, there are alternative, healthier options to choose from.”
Starbucks said, “We are committed to helping customers make informed and enhanced choices by offering a range of customization options, such as choosing our smallest size (tall) and our no-added-sugar oat dairy alternative.
“Customers find nutritional information on our mobile app, online and our menu boards.”
Costa and Caffe Nero responded to Which?’s request for comment by noting that their drinks are not subject to the sugar tax.