Baby and child nutrition: Too much sugar in fruit snacks

Test reveals fruit snacks without added sugar as “over-sweetened”

The German organization Foodwatch tested 77 bars and fruit snacks for children. The conclusion is disastrous. Nutritionists recommend alternatives.

Published today at 21:06

Of the 77 products tested “without added sugar”, only 14 meet the WHO recommendations. On average, the fruit snacks consist of almost a third sugar.

Photo: Foodwatch

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The range of fruit snacks for children is huge. Terms such as “no added sugar” or “sweetness only from fruit” are used on the packaging to attract parents who are looking for healthy bars or desserts for their little ones.

A test by the German organization Foodwatch has revealed that most of these snacks are not healthy at all. 77 products were examined, most of which are also available in Switzerland from large retailers or discounters. On average, the fruit snacks consist of around a third of sugar. Two snacks even had a sugar content of almost three quarters: the Obsties Strawberry Banana with Yoghurt from Alete and the Raisins from Freche Freunde.

Sugary fruit snacks for children, few vegetables in soup and more expensive vanilla ice cream: The German consumer organization Foodwatch has nominated five foods for its negative Golden Windbeutel award and is looking for Germany’s “most brazen advertising lie of the year”. Among the candidates this year are the “Heisse Tasse” from GB Foods, vanilla ice cream from Langnese, strawberry-banana Obsties from Alete, a snack bar from Offset Nutrition and the vegan ham and ham mortadella from Rügenwalder.

Until the end of June you can www.goldener-windbeutel.de Vote on the nominees. Foodwatch is awarding the Golden Windbeutel for the 13th time.

According to Foodwatch, the ice cream “Langnese Cremissimo Bourbon Vanilla” is “a particularly blatant example of shrinkflation” in Germany. The manufacturer Unilever has reduced the pack size from 1300 milliliters to 900 milliliters, but kept the price at 3.99 euros. The consumer organization therefore speaks of a price increase of 44 percent. Many people do not notice the smaller packaging. The ice cream was already named “misleading packaging of the month” by the Hamburg consumer advice center in April.

When asked, Unilever explained that the company was reacting to the increasing demand for smaller product variants in our range with the reduced content. The 900-milliliter pack is a solution for households with lower ice cream requirements or smaller freezers. Prices have also been “adjusted” across the entire Cremissimo range.

The strawberry-banana fruities with yoghurt from Alete also made it onto the list of nominees. The manufacturer presents its product “as a child-friendly snack,” and the statement “No added sugar” suggests good nutritional quality, explained Foodwatch. The snack consists of dried fruit pieces and is made up of almost three quarters fructose. “This product is not a balanced snack, but more of a sweet,” criticize the consumer advocates.

The accusation against the “Hot Cup of Mushroom Cream” is that, in Foodwatch’s opinion, it contains too few vegetables. Fresh mushrooms are shown on the packaging and the text advertises “real vegetables”. “But a look at the list of ingredients shows that the soup contains just two percent vegetables,” explained Foodwatch.

GB Foods said in response to a query that the information was based on the amounts of dried mushroom pieces, mushroom juice concentrate and other vegetable components. The dried pieces therefore correspond to eleven times the amount of fresh mushrooms. In addition, the company decided “some time ago” to change its packaging design. The lettering criticized by Foodwatch will be removed at the end of the year.

Also nominated for the Golden Windbeutel was the product “Pretty Little Meal Bar” from the manufacturer Offset Nutrition. The company advertises its bar as a “main meal replacement” particularly on social media. In fact, it contains almost five sugar cubes, and according to Foodwatch, the bar received the worst Nutri-Score.

Foodwatch also considers the statement “Based on sunflower seeds” on the packaging of the vegan ham and ham mortadella from the manufacturer Rügenwalder Mühle to be misleading. The product consists of just two percent sunflower protein and mostly drinking water, rapeseed oil and bamboo fiber.

The company, however, does not see this as a deception of consumers, as it explained. Rather, it has “always endeavored to provide transparent and understandable information.” The ingredient that replaces meat as a source of nutrients is always indicated on the packaging. However, this does not necessarily have to be the ingredient with the largest proportion. (AFP)

Although it is sugar from pure fruit, as Foodwatch writes, it is no healthier than other sugars. And doctors also warn against fruit snacks. During production, the cell structure of the fruit is broken down, explains metabolism doctor Stefan Kabisch to “Spiegel”. It is still natural fruit sugar, but unlike a fresh apple, it causes blood sugar levels to rise sharply and then fall again. When the next fruit snack follows, excess sugar is converted into fat, threatening obesity and an increased risk of diabetes or other diseases.

Okay in small quantities

Other nutrition experts also warn against sweet snacks. They are a luxury item and not a food, says Christian Sina from the Institute for Nutritional Medicine at the University Hospital in Lübeck. You can eat them in small quantities if you eat a healthy diet overall. “But too much of them is unhealthy – and unfortunately the sugar content in many children’s diets is far too high,” says Sina.

The expert explains that unlike glucose, fructose does not lead to insulin release, which is why there is no feeling of fullness. The child may therefore immediately ask for the next bar. In addition, excess fructose is immediately converted into fat in the liver. Even without being overweight, this can lead to fatty deposits in the organ – and possibly type 2 diabetes.

Only 14 products meet WHO limit

The World Health Organization therefore recommends that children only eat fruit snacks with a maximum of 12.5 percent sugar. The WHO believes that anything that contains more sugar should not be allowed to be advertised to children. In the Foodwatch test, just 14 of the 77 products met this limit.

These 14 products meet WHO recommendations and contain less than 12.5 percent sugar.

Photo: Foodwatch

And only two would receive the Nutri-Score A: the “dm babylove organic crunchy hearts raspberry-banana” and “Pure & Fun organic corn crunchy piglets with apple and carrot” from Healthy Kids. Foodwatch has calculated the Nutri-Score C for 28 products, the rest would receive D or E, but no manufacturer uses the traffic light system.

Too much sugar: bars from Hipp, Freche Freunde and Co. as well as most of the biscuits tested exceed the WHO limit and sometimes contain up to 71 percent sugar.

Photo: Foodwatch

So-called squeezies, liquid fruit from a bag, are no better than fruit snacks. These are just as unhealthy and can also damage baby teeth, warns doctor Kabisch. He recommends fresh fruit and vegetables as well as whole grain products. It is also important to take breaks in between, have set meal times and not to constantly chew on something.

Foodwatch calculated the Nutri-Score for all 77 products. 75 made it into categories C to E, only two received an A. However, the Nutri-Score is not used on any product.

Photo: Foodwatch

It is important to learn about food culture as a child, as it is more difficult later on. Severely overweight children will also find it very difficult to reach a normal weight as adults. And sugar plays a major role in this for children. Parents have a great responsibility to set the right course for their children’s later life.