Children’s yoghurt drinks bought by health-conscious parents in Hong Kong contain unhealthily high levels of sugar, a news report said on Tuesday.
A survey by the city’s consumer council found that sugar was added to many of the popular yoghurts and drinks to make them more appealing to sweet-toothed customers.
Some best-selling yoghurt products contain up to 15g of sugar in every 100g — almost 50% over the 10g limit recommended by Britain’s Food Standards Agency, the study found.
Among the products with the highest sugar content were Yakult Live Lactobacillus Drink with 14,8g and Nestlé Dairy Farm Low Fat Fruit Yoghurt with 12,8g, according to the survey.
Consumer council deputy chief executive Connie Lau told the South China Morning Post: ”There is a general belief that probiotic-rich dairy products are beneficial to our health.
”Parents might think it is good for children to take such products. But they have to be aware that consuming food that is too sweet can lead to tooth decay.”
Yoghurt and yoghurt drinks do not currently have to carry labels specifying their sugar content in Hong Kong.
Nestlé said in a statement: ”Should there be any changes in future [in Hong Kong food labelling regulations], we would adapt accordingly.” – Sapa-DPA