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Martin Wong

Consumer Council warning after tests
Cereals marketed for children have unhealthy levels of sugar and salt, Consumer Council tests have shown - ahead of an international report expected to reveal 'shocking' levels of the two substances in youngsters' breakfast foods.
Fourteen of 15 samples tested contained too much sugar and the only one with an acceptable sugar level had too much salt.
The council said the excess sugar appeared to have been added by the manufacturers and warned that children eating such products risked becoming obese.
Of the samples, 14 had sugar levels ranging from 14.8 grams to 44 grams of sugar per 100 grams.
'As the sugar detected in the samples was largely sucrose, which exists naturally in cereals only in trace amounts, the high sugar content is believed to have been caused mostly by free sugars added by manufacturers in the production process,' the council's publicity chairman, Ambrose Ho,  said.
Mr Ho said the daily acceptable sugar intake as suggested by United Kingdom health experts was just 50 grams.
'High intake of free sugars threatens the nutrient quality of diets by providing significant energy but without specific nutrients, causing unhealthy weight gain in children,' he added.
Asked why free sugars were added, Mr Ho said manufacturers probably thought children loved sweet food and used it to lure more buyers.
'Parents, however, must think twice before buying these cereals as it will have a bad effect on their children's health. They will easily become obese if they take too much of these foods,' he said.
The only cereal with acceptable sugar content, however, had the highest level of salt  of all samples - 971 milligrams per 100 grams of cereal.
A child who consumed the recommended daily portion of the cereal, 40 grams, would take in 388mg of sodium a day, or 19 per cent of the total daily intake recommended by health experts.
'Parents should observe the salt content of children's breakfast cereals for the sake of their health,' Mr Ho said.
The council said it had chosen the 15 samples from the many cereals available because of their packaging and cartoon advertisements aimed at children.
Despite the high sugar and salt content, all the cereals fare well in tests for fat, with total fat content ranging from 0.58 grams to 7.56 grams and saturated fat from 0.17 grams to 4.21 grams. Trans-fats levels were all lower than 0.1 grams per 100 grams.
Mr Ho said the tests had been prompted by the planned release this month of a report, Cereal Offences, by Consumers International, the global federation of consumer organisations on  ' the shocking level of sugar and salt found in many popular children's cereals'.
The federation is  seeking an international code to restrict the marketing of unhealthy food to children.



High sugar  levels in  cereals for  children