Lidl and Aldi told to remove child-friendly branding from cereals

Morning cereals and yoghurts containing high amounts of sugar should have any packaging that appeals to children removed, a health group has warned.

Action on Sugar said that brands should remove appealing packaging from products graded a high or medium for sugar, salt and saturated fats by the Department for Health.

This comes as new findings from the group, which is based at Queen Mary University in London, compared the sugar levels of popular cereals and yoghurts.

Almost half of cereals found to contain a third of the daily recommended sugar for children

Nearly half of cereals were found to contain a third of the recommended sugar intake for four and six-year-olds (Canva) (Image: Canva)

The group found that 47% of cereals and 65% of yoghurts contained a third of the maximum sugar recommended for four to six-year-olds.

Of the brands selected, products by Lidl, Aldi and Nestle had the highest average sugar levels.

The packaging on these products was said to include cartoon characters, animations and vibrant colours.

This comes after Lidl announced in 2020 that it would remove cartoon characters from its own-brand cereal packaging in the UK.

It also comes amid a significant reduction in the sugar present in breakfast cereals and yoghurts with a drop of 14.9% and 13.5% respectively between 2015 and 2020.

The Government’s final report of the Sugar Reduction Programme has now been released, and reading between the lines, it makes a clear case for legislated sugar targets. Our summary and reflections: https://t.co/AbbdiA7q02 pic.twitter.com/OVSOKgXiGq

— Action On Sugar (@actiononsugar) December 2, 2022

Despite this progress, the UK Government’s Sugar Reduction Programme had set out a 20% drop in this same timeframe.

Dr Kawther Hashem, campaign lead at Action on Sugar, said: “It’s ludicrous that whilst breakfast cereals and yogurts celebrate the largest reductions in sugars during the Sugar Reduction Programme, those same products with child-appealing packaging still have excessive amounts of sugars, unsuitable for regular intake by children.

“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.”

PA News has contacted Lidl, Aldi and Nestle for comment.