A new campaign group, Action on Sugar, has been focusing on drinks sold in cafes. The group analyzed 131 different hot drinks and they found that one third contained equivalent levels of sugar as found in a can of Pepsi or Coca-Cola (which is around nine teaspoons of sugar.) The worst example was a drink that contained 25 teaspoons of sugar. The U.K. National Health Service recommends that adults consume no more than seven teaspoons of sugar, as found in all types of food and drink, per day.
For the study, the group visited well-known U.K. coffee shops, including Starbucks, Costa Coffee and Caffe Nero. Among the types of beverages sampled were flavored coffees including mochas and lattes; along with hot fruit drinks and hot chocolates.
The worst offending drink was one from Starbucks called ‘Hot mulled fruit – Grape with chai, orange, and cinnamon – Venti.’ This drink contained the 25 teaspoons of sugar, indicated above. Another Starbucks offering – ‘White chocolate mocha with whipped cream – Venti’ – contained 18 teaspoons of sugar.
Also featured on the list, was a mocha drink sold at KFC, which was found to contain 15 teaspoons of sugar. Costa Coffee’s massimo eat-in Chai Latte had 18 teaspoons of sugar per serving.
Lead researcher, for Action on Sugar, Kawther Hashem has called on the chains to reduce their sugar content and to improve the information given to consumers. She also warned consumers to cut down. Here she told BBC News: “These hot flavored drinks should be an occasional treat, not an everyday drink. They are laden with an unbelievable amount of sugar and calories and are often accompanied by a high sugar and fat snack.”
