Supermarket sting exposes misleading claims

Consumer NZ found examples of foods promising they were low fat - but were high in sugar. Photo / Thinkstock

Watchdog says fat-free 'healthy' tags often fail to mention product is high in sugar

A leading consumer advocate is calling for better food labelling after a supermarket sting on products claiming to be good for your waistline.

Findings from the Consumer NZ investigation into food marketing messages have prompted boss Sue Chetwin to warn shoppers to be wary of claims that made products seem healthy.

Consumer found examples of foods promising they were low fat - but were high in sugar. That lulled people into thinking they were buying healthy options, she said.

She gave the example of Kellogg's Special K Forest Berries cereal, which is marketed as 99 per cent fat free but is nearly a quarter sugar. And Allen's Snakes, which are 50 per cent sugar, are also described as 99 per cent fat free.

Chetwin said customers could also think gluten-free products were healthy, but many were high in sugar. Lowan Whole Foods Gluten-Free Cocoa Bombs, which had a "Let's eat healthy" slogan on the box, had 29.8g of sugar per 100g.

Chetwin said the voluntary Health Star Rating system introduced last year, which uses a rating of up to five stars to indicate the nutritional value of foods, should be mandatory so shoppers could easily understand what they were buying.

More people were taking the time to read ingredients labels while shopping, she said. "But they shouldn't have to look for it. It [a product's make-up] should be in your face. If it was, manufacturers might have to reformulate their products."

Nutritionist Claire Turnbull said consumers needed to realise that the information on packaging was designed to encourage them to buy it.

"People feel misled but that's because they don't understand them. They need to buy based on the ingredients list, looking at what's in the product, rather than just the words on it."

A Kellogg's spokeswoman said the company had led the way with providing nutrition information to consumers through many initiatives, "including being the first manufacturer to put daily intake labelling" on products.

Countdown said its Homebrand products met labelling requirements. A spokesperson said some consumers found it hard to navigate nutrition information so it was adopting the Health Star Rating.

Not so healthy ...

• Vogel's Cafe-Style Light Berry with Blackcurrant cereal doesn't appear to contain any actual blackcurrants. It is 1 per cent blackcurrant juice

• Kellogg's Just Right with Goji Berries, Cranberries and Sultanas is only 1.5 per cent goji berries

• Watties 99% Fat Free Creamed Rice contains six teaspoons of sugar per serve

• Kellogg's Special K Forest Berries is 99 per cent fat free but nearly a quarter sugar

• Nice and Natural Fruit Strings claim to be 65 per cent fruit juice but are 51 per cent sugar

• Woolworths Select pretzels are 97 per cent fat free but have 1,370mg of sodium per 100g, more than three times the amount in regular potato chips

- Source: Consumer NZ