Waitrose slashes sugar content in half their breakfast cereals to help combat obesity
The supermarket said today it will lower sugar levels in 27 of their their own-brand cereal by 15 per cent
SUPERMARKET giant Waitrose will slash sugar levels in almost 30 of its own-brand cereal to help combat obesity levels, it emerged today.
A total of 27 own-brand cereals will see average sugar content cut by 15 per cent, bosses said.
Family favourites such as rice pops, malted wheats and multigrain hoops will all have lower sugar levels with some products, such as bran flakes, seeing sugar content down by 30 per cent.
This success means more than 90 tonnes or 22.5 million teaspoons of sugar a year will have been taken out of the supermarket's own label cereals.
The new, healthier versions of the breakfast favourites, will appear on the shelves from today.
And, bosses claim there will be no difference to taste or price.
It comes after a new study found half of all fizzy drinks sold in nine supermarkets in the UK contain more sugar than a person's daily allowance.
Tesco announced last week they would slash sugar content in their own-brand fizzy drinks ahead of the Government's planned sugar tax.
And, the makers of Lucozade and Ribena followed suit, announcing sugar levels in the popular drinks would be cut to help combat the rising tide of obesity.
As cereal makes up 60 per cent of breakfasts this is a great way to help customers reduce the amount of sugar in their diet
Dr Emma Williams
Dr Emma Williams, senior nutritionist at Waitrose, said: "As cereal makes up 60 per cent of breakfasts this is a great way to help customers reduce the amount of sugar in their diet.
"Our customers want a healthy start to the day and reducing sugar is one way for us to help them achieve this.
"Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day with many breakfast cereals fortified with valuable nutrients, such as B-vitamins, vitamin D and iron."
The move builds on the supermarket's continuing work to cut added sugars, having already targeted chilled juices, yoghurts, soups, cordials and fizzy drinks in recent years.
Popular cereals such as choco pops, corn flakes and honey nut cornflakes have already seen significant reductions in 2015 and early 2016 - previously removing over 2.5 tonnes of sugar.
And, a spokesman for Waitrose said they plan to cut sugar in the other half of their own-brand cereals next year.
Public Health England has a target of five per cent sugar reduction in breakfast cereals by September 2017.
Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at PHE welcomed the move by Waitrose.
She told The Sun Online: "It's good to see further reductions in sugar by Waitrose across its own brand cereals.
"It recognises the impact of excessive sugar in the diet and shows they are moving in the right direction in helping to reduce calorie intakes and the risk of weight gain and obesity."