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Bottled brews can be high in sugar and low in benefits: study

A bottle of green tea drink may contain similar levels of sugar as a can of cola and most brands have less than half the healthy  components of a traditionally brewed cup, a Consumer Council study has found.

The Hong Kong Medical Association warned parents, diabetics and the overweight that green tea drinks were often no better than their fizzy cousins.

The council tested 30 different brands of the popular drink following studies on the mainland that found some contained less than one-thirtieth of the  polyphenols required to be considered healthy.

Polyphenols are powerful antioxidants that can stop damage by free radicals - the atoms or molecules in the body responsible for tissue damage. Scientists believe regular consumption of the polyphenols found in green tea  may also stop cancer and heart attacks.

In 25 of the samples, polyphenol content was below 0.1 per cent of the drink (per 100ml of tea), but a cup of tea had up to 0.20 per cent after brewing for three minutes and up to 0.27 per cent after 10 minutes.

Consumer Council spokesman Larry Kwok Lam-kwong said if consumers were after health benefits, they should stick to traditional tea.

But Mr Kwok rejected the idea that the names of the drinks should be changed to 'green tea like'.

'It's really up to the consumers. Most people are aware that a bottle of tea or coffee contains less of the product than the traditionally brewed varieties,' he said.

The amount of sugar in the drinks varied from nothing to 9.2 per cent per 100ml for the brand Unif Iced Tea - meaning the overall sugar content is similar to a 355ml can of original Coke, 100ml of which was 10.6 per cent sugar.

Mr Kwok said consumers should also be wary of 'low sugar' products that could sometimes contain  up to 4.6 per cent sugar by volume.

One brand, which promoted itself as being low in sugar, does not specify how much sugar  is in the bottle and the case has been referred to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department for further action. Mr Kwok said there was no law to define exactly what 'low sugar' meant in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Medical Association president Gabriel Choi Kin  said consumers should take note of the findings and buy  responsibly.

'The main issue is not the lack of polyphenols but the amount of sugar in  the drinks,' Dr Choi said.

'A can of Coke has close to the same amount of energy as a bowl of rice, so parents should not be giving their children drinks that contain this much sugar.'

Diabetics and those trying to lose weight should also be careful when selecting tea drinks, he said.



Teas no better than soft drinks, experts warn