Kellogg denied the claims and accused Which? of failing to see the bigger picture. The firm also stressed that it offered a wide range of products that included lower sugar alternatives for youngsters.
“People know Frosties contains sugar, that’s why they’re called Frosties,” a Kellogg statement said.
“And, if you want a lower sugar version of Coco Pops there is one – it’s called Rice Krispies. That’s the problem with these types of reports; they fixate on the rights or wrongs of particular products without seeing the bigger picture – that there’s a huge number of cereals people can choose from when shopping.”
Kellogg also said it was working hard to give parents lower sugar options for their children.
Adequate labelling
The comments come after Which? hit out at manufacturers and retailers for failing to provide a wider choice of cereals with adequate labelling.
Which? said that many cereals would be “more at home in the chocolate biscuit aisle”, after comparing the nutritional content of the top selling breakfast cereals and their own-label equivalents.
The consumer campaign group also slammed firms for inconsistent labelling, with different serving sizes between brands, a lack of traffic light labelling and inconsistent per-serving information.
As a result of the research, 32 out of the top 50 cereals were discovered to be high in sugar, according to Which?.
Cereals aimed at children were “particularly disappointing”, with high levels of sugar found in 12 out of the 14 products.
Which? revealed that Kellog's Frosties was the worst offender with a 37% sugar content. Chocolate rice cereals from several supermarkets came a close second. Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, Coco Pops and Sugar Puffs were also featured in the list.
Healthier alternatives
Healthier alternatives from Kellogg such as All-Bran, Bran Flakes and Special K were also high in sugar content, the research revealed.
But the consumer group was encouraged by the reductions in salt across the majority of cereals. The research showed that Morrisons Honey Nut Cornflakes, Tesco Special Flakes and Kellogg’s Coco Pops had made “significant cuts”. Just eight cereals failed to meet the salt targets for 2012, the consumer champion revealed.
Executive director at Which?, Richard Lloyd said: “It is good news that the salt content of many cereals has been lowered. But Which? research has shown that once again, many top-selling breakfast cereals are too high in sugar. Parents will be particularly surprised by the fact that the majority of children’s cereals contain so much sugar.
“More action is needed by retailers and manufacturers to provide a wider choice of healthier cereals. The government also needs to encourage manufacturers to take action over sugar levels and provide consistent nutrition labelling that includes traffic light colour coding so it is easy to see exactly what you are buying.”
Katharine Jenner, nutritionist and campaign director of Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) echoed Lloyd’s comments.
She said: “It’s great to see manufacturers finally putting less salt in our breakfast cereals. This is a really positive and important step forward for salt reduction, and therefore our health, in the UK.
“However, it is important that these reductions continue beyond the salt targets, as there are still high salt products available, some of which are even aimed at children. This Which? report reminds us to look at the food labels when we’re shopping and to choose lower salt and sugar cereals.”