Popular “Healthy” Cereal Bars Contain High Sugar Levels

Popular brands of cereal bars that are marketed as healthy in fact contain sugar and fat levels that are higher than sweet snacks. Consumer watchdog Which? analyzed 30 of the best selling cereal bars and found that more than half of the bars contained sugar levels greater than 30 percent with one of the brands, Nutri-Grain Elevenses by Kellogg’s, containing more than four teaspoons of sugar, equal to a small can of cola. Majority of the bars are marketed as healthy with some of them also targeting children.

The researchers also found that the cereal bars were high on fat content with brands such as Tracker Roasted Nut bar containing more than 30 percent of fat. Which? boss Richard Lloyd said that the manufacturers should clearly display the sugar and fat levels as people often eat such bars assuming that they are healthy.

“People often choose cereal bars in the belief that they are healthier than chocolate or biscuits but our research shows this can be a myth. With high levels of sugar and saturated fat in some of the products, they should be on the sweet counter, not marketed as health foods”, he said.

Source-Medindia