Shocking amounts of sugar in hot drinks

According to the campaign group, Action on Sugar, one third of hot drinks sold by high street retailers contain the same or greater quantity of sugar as Coca-Cola.

The group analysed 131 hot drinks from major retailers such as Starbucks, Costa and KFC. The worst offender was Starbucks’ venti grape with chai, orange and cinnamon hot mulled fruit, containing 25 teaspoons of sugar per serving. KFC’s mocha and Starbucks’ signature hot chocolate both had 15 teaspoons of sugar per serving, and Cafe Nero’s caramelatte had 13. A can of Coca-Cola contains 9 teaspoons.

A spokeswoman for Starbucks said the company had committed earlier this year to reducing sugar in its indulgent drinks by 25 per cent by the end of 2020. She stated that Starbucks also offers “a wide variety of lighter options” and that all nutritional information was displayed in-store and online. A spokeswoman for Costa said they had already taken significant steps to reduce sugar and aim to reduce added sugar in its hot drinks by 2020. However, Action on Sugar have urged the companies to immediately reduce sugar content, and to stop serving the drinks in extra-large serving sizes.

This revelation has come at a time when the government is proposing a sugar tax of up to 20 per cent in order to try to curb obesity. Sugary drinks current comprise 16% of sugar consumption amongst adults. Some groups have estimated that introducing a sugar tax could reduce obesity in the UK by 1.3%.

The full results of the investigation can be seen here.

Photo credit: Michael Dales on Flickr.