Experts sound alarm over yoghurts with as much sugar as ice-cream
Next time you grab a tub of flavoured yoghurt thinking it's a healthy alternative, remember that it may have more sugar than ice-cream.
An analysis of 197 flavoured yoghurts on the shelves of Coles and Woolworths found that 55 per cent had more than 12 grams (three teaspoons) of sugar per 100 grams – the upper limit of the recommended amount.
The most sugar-laden was Chobani-owned Gippsland Dairy's Choc Cherry Twist, which, at 4.7 teaspoons of sugar per 100 grams, surpasses Streets Blue Ribbon Classic Vanilla ice-cream.
This was followed by Gippsland Dairy Boysenberry Twist and Tasmanian Tamar Valley Dairy Greek Style Raspberry flavoured yoghurts.
Alison McAleese, manager of the Livelighter public health campaign, said too often seemingly healthy and nutritious yoghurts were "desserts in disguise".
"Some labels use terms like 'natural', 'high in probiotics' and 'low fat', but these hide the high sugar content and can make it hard for shoppers to figure out which ones are genuinely good," she said.
She said yoghurt contains lactose, which is a naturally occurring sugar, but it's the added sugar Australians need to look out for.
Generally, there are six grams of naturally occurring sugar in every 100 grams of yoghurt. This means the rest is either fruit or added sugars, which can come in many forms, such as syrup and honey.
The World Health Organisation recommends that no more than 10 per cent of a person's daily energy intake should come from added sugars. So for the average Australian adult, this equates to 52 grams or 13 teaspoons of added sugar.
Livelighter – run by Cancer Council Victoria and Heart Foundation – has joined consumer groups in calling for the government to force manufacturers to label added sugars in the nutritional panel.
State and federal food and health ministers will discuss sugar labelling at the Forum of Food Regulation meeting on Friday.
Consumer advocacy group Choice said its research showed that if consumers could identify added sugars, they would be able to avoid 26 teaspoons of sugar a day and up to 38.3 kilograms a year.
The calculations were based on six food swaps during a day. It said replacing a serve of Gippsland Raspberry and Coconut Twist Yoghurt with Gippsland's Organic Natural Yoghurt and adding coconut flakes and fresh raspberries, could remove 15.3 grams or 3.8 teaspoons of unnecessary sugar.
"At the moment you have to be a food scientist to identify added sugars in processed foods," said Choice's Katinka Day.
The Australian Food and Grocery Council dismissed the calls, saying total sugars was enough because the body didn't distinguish between naturally occurring and added sugars.
"WHO and Australian food regulators have examined this issue and have found that added sugars would provide no additional nutritional information to consumers," said Dr Geoffrey Annison, the council's acting CEO and food nutritionist.
Parmalat-owned Tamar Valley Dairy said it added sugar to deliver the "full-flavoured taste" its customers desired, but it was now offering "no added sugar" products.
Chobani-owned Gippsland Dairy did not respond to Fairfax Media's request for comment.
Danone, whose Danone Ultimate Greek yoghurt performed poorly, said the product was positioned in the market as a treat for occasional, not daily, consumption.
"Danone Ultimate Greek yoghurt offers an alternative to packaged desserts, with 4.2 teaspoons in each 125-gram serve, which is significantly lower in sugar than many of the desserts and ice-creams on the market," a spokeswoman said.
The Livelighter survey found the least sugary flavoured yoghurt with no artificial sweeteners were Rokeby Farms Whole Protein Swedish Style Quark yoghurt and Ski D'Lite Real Yoghurt Low Sugar Passionfruit.
Kellie-Ann Jolly, CEO of Heart Foundation Victoria, said reduced-fat greek, natural or plain yoghurts were the best options because they tended to have less sugar and saturated fat.
"You can then make your own flavoured creations by adding some fresh or frozen fruit, a sprinkle of cinnamon or some chopped nuts and seeds," she said.
Excess intake of added sugar is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, dental caries and cardiovascular disease.
Consumers are encouraged to avoid plain yoghurts with "cream" in the ingredients list because they are more likely to be high in total and saturated fat.
They should also be wary of coconut yoghurts, which are extremely high in fat and energy and low in calcium.
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Esther Han was a homepage editor at The Sydney Morning Herald, based in Sydney and later New York City. She previously covered state politics, health and consumer affairs, and contributed food reviews.