Analytical Report - Fruit & fruit/cereal bars

Note: The levels of sugar in food that represent a "lot" and a "little" have been changed since this report was completed.

Forty four samples of fruit and fruit/cereal bars were sampled to test for the levels of sugars, salt, vitamin C, calcium and iron. In addition checks were made for contamination with lead and cadmium as there is a possibility that these could be present in the cereal or fruit. These bars tended to be of two types, those made only from dried fruit, and those made from cereal with, perhaps a small percentage of fruit or fruit flavouring. This second type varied from cereal bars with a fruit centre to pieces of fruit stuck together with a cereal filler.

Some of the bars are presented as being a healthy alternative to crisps, chocolate bars and similar snack items. With this in mind they are sometimes seen as items ideal for school lunchboxes.

Summary of Results

Twelve samples were of the fruit only type. The sugar content of these ranged from 45 to 67%. Much of this was glucose and fructose, but the sucrose ranged up to 30%. About three quarters of the products contained added glucose syrup or sugar, the remainder being naturally sweet through the fruit content or having fruit juice concentrate added. One product was made from pureed fruit rather than dried fruit so contained a lower sugar content of 18%.

Five samples were based on cereals with perhaps a little fruit or fruit flavouring. The sugar contents ranged from 23 to 49%. The remainder of the products were combination cereal-fruit bars. The sugar contents on these ranged from 19 to 46%. To identify how much actual fruit the bars contain, it is necessary to read the ingredients list and look for the % declaration of all the fruit components.

They are presented as being a "healthy" alternative to, for example, crisps and similar snacks, but although they might be lower in fat and salt, they are usually high in sugar. 95% of the products contained more than 10g of sugar per 100g, making them high sugar products. Although some of these sugars occur naturally in fruit and milk, those sugars that are added to foods during manufacture (NMES: non-milk extrinsic sugars) can contribute to tooth decay, and should not be consumed as in-between meal snacks. Furthermore, many of the products contain fruit juice, puree or dried fruit. When fruit is juiced or blended, the natural sugars are released and these, when combined with the sticky texture of dried fruit, can remain in contact with the teeth for a long period of time. The advice therefore of dentists is that these bars should not be eaten as a snack but consumed at mealtimes so the action of chewing which generates saliva can neutralise the acids generated.

Nutrition information does not have to be declared unless particular claims are made e.g. low sugar, high in fibre. Fortunately most manufacturers of the products sampled voluntarily give this information which may include the amount of sugars. It will not tell you the amount of NMES, but consumers can check the ingredients list to see whether extra sugar has been added. Look for words such as 'sucrose', 'glucose' maltose', 'corn syrup', 'hydrolysed starch' and 'honey'. The nearer these are to the top of the ingredient list, the greater the amount of sugar in the bar.

The bars ranged in weight from 15g (barely half an ounce) to 50g, with the one weighing 90g. The amount of sugar intake will therefore depend not only on the amount of sugar per 100g of product but also on the size of the bar as it is usual that the whole bar is consumed by one person once opened.

Results for salt showed many bars contained a negligible amount of salt as would be expected for these types of products. However one cereal bar contained 0.4g of salt. The FSA recommend that children aged 4-6 years should eat no more than 3g of salt per day, rising to a maximum of 6g per day for those over 11. Thus for young children, one bar might contain an eighth of their daily maximum.

Iron ranged from negligible in several samples up to a maximum of 4.7mg which is almost one third of the Recommended Nutritional Intake for girls aged over 11, and an even greater proportion for boys and younger children.

Report date: August 2005