Health Campaigners Slam Sugary Kids’ Cereals and Yoghurts for Naughty Packaging
Action on Sugar has issued a chilling warning: sugary breakfast cereals and yoghurts aimed at kids should ditch their flashy, child-friendly packaging — now. The health group wants brands to bin cartoon characters and bright colours on products loaded with sugar, salt, or saturated fats.
New Study Drops the Sugar Bomb
Based at Queen Mary University London, Action on Sugar’s latest study reveals a shocking sugar overload in popular kids’ cereals and yoghurts. Nearly half (47%) of cereals and a staggering 65% of yoghurts contain at least a third of the maximum daily sugar limit recommended for kids aged four to six.
Top Culprits: Lidl, Aldi, Nestlé
Big name brands like Lidl, Aldi, and Nestlé headline the sugar shame list, packing their products with high sugar content while sporting eye-catching packaging featuring cartoons and bright animations — prime sugar traps for kids.
Lidl fought back consumer criticism by removing cartoon characters from its own-brand cereals in 2020, but Action on Sugar insists that’s just the start.
Sugar Cuts Too Slow to Tackle Children’s Health Crisis
Despite some progress — cereals and yoghurts have cut sugar by 14.9% and 13.5% since 2015 — the government’s 20% reduction target remains unmet. Dr Kawther Hashem, Campaign Lead at Action on Sugar, slams brands for misleading parents with deceptive packaging while health problems soar.
“Given the soaring numbers of under-18s suffering weight-related health problems and tooth decay being the leading cause of child hospitalisation, now is the time for companies to be forced to remove child-appealing packaging from products that are misleading parents and making our children unhealthy and sick.”
