Trendy vegan yoghurts and desserts can contain MORE sugar than dairy ones

Trendy vegan yoghurts can contain more sugar than dairy ones – even if they are considered to be healthier.

Scientists analysed the sugar content of 893 yoghurts and dessert products sold in British supermarkets, 67 of which were vegan.

Dozens of yoghurts that contained milk were found to have less sugar than some of the worst offending dairy-free alternatives.

The study, which comes while many will be attempting ‘Veganuary’, revealed Coconut Collaborative Little Choc Pots contained 20 per cent sugar – 20g per 100g.

Asda’s Free From Chocolate Mousse is 16 per cent sugar, meaning a 90g pot contains almost four teaspoons of sugar in a small pot. 

In comparison, natural Greek yoghurt contains as little as three per cent sugar in a 100g serving.

Because vegan products don’t contain milk, which has naturally occurring sugars, manufacturers often have to flavour their yoghurts with syrups and fruit purees.

The market for dairy alternatives has boomed in recent years and doubled since 2016, the study by the University of Leeds found.

But consumers should be wary that plant-based products may still be high in ‘free sugars’ – which are not naturally occurring and are added for flavour – even if marketing ploys give them a ‘health halo’.

Coconut Collaborative Little Choc Pots are a ‘dessert’ product made of a coconut cream instead of milk. They contain 20g of sugar per 100g, researchers at University of Leeds found. It was one the most sugary product of the 67 studied by the academics 

The second highest sugar content was found in the chocolate mousses from Asda's Free From range, which had 16g of sugar per 100g

The second highest sugar content was found in the chocolate mousses from Asda’s Free From range, which had 16g of sugar per 100g

Koko Dairy Free Peach and Passion Fruit Yogurt Alternative contains 12.5g of sugar per 100g. It's sold in 125g pots, therefore containing around 15.6g of sugar per serving

Koko Dairy Free Peach and Passion Fruit Yogurt Alternative contains 12.5g of sugar per 100g. It’s sold in 125g pots, therefore containing around 15.6g of sugar per serving

Dr Bernadette Moore, first author of the study, said: ‘Movements such as Veganuary may encourage people to reconsider their eating habits.

‘But it’s important people are aware that dairy alternatives may be an unrecognised source of added sugar to their diet.

WHAT WERE THE VEGAN PRODUCTS WITH THE MOST SUGAR?

The University of Leeds studied 893 yoghurts and dessert products sold in British supermarkets, 67 of which were vegan.

The following were found to have the highest sugar content:  

Coconut Collaborative Little Choc Pots: 20g/100g. Sold in 45g pots = 9g sugar per serving.

Asda Free From Chocolate Mousse: 16g/100g. Sold in 90g pots = 14g sugar per serving.

Tesco Free From Mango Yogurt Alternative: 12.5g/100g. Sold in 100g pots = 12.5g sugar per serving.

Koko Dairy Free Peach and Passion Fruit Yogurt Alternative: 12.5g/100g. Sold in 125g pots = 16g sugar per serving.

Freaks of Nature Mango and Passion Fruit Posset: 11.8g/100g. Sold in 90g pot = 11g sugar per serving.

Alpro, Caramel Soya Dessert10.8g/100g. Sold in 125g pots = 14g sugar per serving.

‘Because dairy alternatives do not have lactose, which is a naturally-occurring sugar, the total sugar content comes entirely from added sweeteners. Generally added sugars are considered to be worse for teeth and health.

‘Given the wide range of sugar levels across these products, people making a switch to a vegan-friendly yogurt should scrutinise product ingredients carefully.’  

Many people may be duped into thinking the growing number of fashionable vegan products are healthier for them.

But Dr Moore said: ‘The question of whether plant-based yogurts provide the same nutritional and health benefits as those made from cow’s milk is currently under investigation.’ 

Researchers surveyed products by searching the websites of Tesco, Asda, Waitrose, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s. Those which came up when the word ‘yoghurt’ was searched for were analysed, which included desserts, fromage frais and yoghurt drinks. 

The aim was to see if companies had reduced sugar content in yoghurts between 2016 and 2019, after being encouraged to do so by the Government. 

A ‘high sugar’ product is one which contains more than 22.5g of sugars per 100g, and a ‘low sugar’ product is 5g or less per 100g, the NHS says. 

Freaks of Nature, a company which boasts about using 'natural' ingredients, sells a Mango and Passion Fruit Posset with 11.8g per 100g. Each pot is around 90g

Freaks of Nature, a company which boasts about using ‘natural’ ingredients, sells a Mango and Passion Fruit Posset with 11.8g per 100g. Each pot is around 90g 

Alpro, Caramel Soya Dessert has 10.8g of sugar 100g. It's sold in 125g pots

Tesco's mango yoghurts from its Free From range has 12.5 per cent sugar - 12.5g per 100g serving

Consumers should be wary that plant-based products may still be high in ‘free sugars’ – which are not naturally occurring and added for flavour – even if marketing ploys give them a ‘health halo’, researchers said amid a rising interest in veganism

Overall, 27 per cent of almond, soya and coconut based alternatives had more than 10g of total sugar per 100g.  

The findings also show 54 per cent of all products are tipping the 10g barrier, and children’s yoghurts, flavoured, fruit and organic yoghurts are still the most sugary on the high street. 

The Coconut Collaborative’s Little Choc Pots had the most sugar per 100g out of the vegan products studied. Its 45g pots contain over two teaspoons of sugar.

The Coconut Collaborative said its small indulgent chocolate pots, which make up almost a third of the NHS’s recommended daily sugar intake for adults, cannot be compared to yoghurts because they are a dessert.  

WHAT DID THE COMPANIES SAY? 

Tesco said: ‘The health of our customers is very important to us and we offer a number of products in our vegan and dairy-free yoghurt ranges which are lower in sugar. Our packaging is designed to clearly display the sugar content.’

Koko said: ‘Our yogurts were developed to have a similar level of sugar to an average dairy yogurt. However, we are very aware of the need to reduce sugar levels so we are actively developing new lower sugar yogurts which we hope to launch very soon.’ 

The Coconut Collaborative said: ‘Our yoghurts contain the lowest amount of sugar in the category, as do our desserts.’

The company said their Little Choc Pots compare favourably to other vegan desserts which were not included in the study. They added that they pride themselves on having ‘no added sugar’ in their yoghurts. 

The second highest sugar content was found in the chocolate mousses from Asda’s Free From range, which had 16g of sugar per 100g. 

Joint third came Koko’s Peach & Passion Fruit Yogurt Alternative and Tesco’s mango yoghurts from its Free From range, which were both 12.5 per cent sugar. 

Freaks of Nature, a company which boasts about using ‘natural’ ingredients, sells a Mango and Passion Fruit Posset with 11.8g per 100g. It says it is sweetened with coconut nectar.  

Swathes of comparable yoghurts had less sugar than the dairy alternatives. For example, Danone Light & Free Skyr Blueberry Yogurt has 3.5g of sugar per 100g.

The product which ranked the worst for sugar content overall was Cadbury Dairy Milk Pots of Joy Crème Egg Desserts, with 32.9g of sugar per 100g. 

And some vegan products were among the lowest-sugar products, containing 0g of sugar. These include Asda’s Free From Plain Soya Yoghurt with Coconut and Alpro Plain Unsweetend Soya Yogurt.

Mhairi Brown, policy coordinator for Action on Sugar, which is based at Queen Mary University of London, commented on the findings.

She said: ‘Consumers choosing dairy alternative yogurts for both environmental and health reasons could be shocked to learn that their “health halo” is hiding excessive levels of sugar. 

‘Food manufacturers can take greater steps too by being transparent and displaying clear nutrition information on the front of product packaging.’

Other findings, published in today in in the journal Nutrients, include: 

  • Only 37 per cent of vegan products are low-sugar, containing 5g or less per 100g
  • With interest in a meat-free diet soaring, the number of dairy-free yoghurts had almost doubled from 38 to 67 in three years
  • There was an overall 13 per cent decrease in total sugar content from 2016 to 2019
  • Those with the most reduction in sugar were children’s, drinks and fruit yogurts 
  • The number of different children’s and organic products has decreased by 23 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively
  • Desserts had the highest total sugar, while Greek and natural yoghurts had the lowest
  • A total of 539 products were paired, meaning they were present in both 2016 and 2019. The dairy alternatives category was the only category where it appeared there was a net increase in sugar contents among the 39 paired products. But it was not a significant difference

Lead author Dr Bernadette Moore said people were failing to recognise how much sugar they are eating.  

She said: ‘Recent research has shown a common lack of awareness about how much sugar is in our food. 

‘Simply put, lowering sugar intake is the best way to prevent obesity and protect our teeth – particularly for small children.’

All companies mentioned were contacted by MailOnline for comment.  

HOW TO UNDERSTAND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION ON YOUR FOOD

The vast majority of packaged foods in the UK come with nutritional information printed on the label. 

The main things to look for are fat, saturated fat, salt (which may be called sodium), fibre and sugar – which is often listed as ‘of which sugars’ beneath carbohydrates.

Generally speaking, foods with higher fibre and lower saturated fat, salt and sugar are healthier. 

Some supermarkets also label nutritional value with a traffic light system, in which more green points to healthier food.

The NHS advice on what is high or low is as follows:

Total fat

High: more than 17.5g of fat per 100g 

Low: 3g of fat or less per 100g

An adult’s recommended daily allowance (RDA) of fat is around 70g.

Saturated fat 

High: more than 5g of saturated fat per 100g 

Low: 1.5g of saturated fat or less per 100g

An adult’s RDA of saturated fat is around 20g.

Sugars (aka of which sugars)

High: more than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g 

Low: 5g of total sugars or less per 100g

An adult’s RDA of sugars is around 90g.

Salt (aka sodium) 

High: more than 1.5g of salt per 100g (or 0.6g sodium) 

Low: 0.3g of salt or less per 100g (or 0.1g sodium)

An adult’s RDA of salt is 6g or less. 

Source: NHS Choices   

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