Healthy cereals 'a con'

The carefully cultivated healthy image of breakfast cereals was branded a consumer con today.

A major survey of 100 of Britain's best-selling cereals has found that more than 80 per cent exceeded official guidelines on levels of salt or sugar.

The "name and shame" survey, conducted by researchers at Which? magazine, revealed that a bowl of cereal in the morning is often far from the wholesome start to the day that manufacturers claim in their advertising.

For example, a single serving of some popular cereals, including Kellogg's All-Bran, contains more salt than four packets of roasted peanuts, according to the study. Nick Stace, director of communications at the Consumers' Association, which publishes Which?, said: "Breakfast cereals have a healthy image yet our research shows that big brand manufacturers are lacing their cereal with such high levels of sugar and salt that it is no wonder we have a public health crisis on our hands."

The survey is the first in a series of attacks on the food industry by the Consumers' Association designed to sting the Government into taking tougher action over unhealthy foods. It says the Government's professed concern about obesity is "little more than rhetoric".

It is also the first time the body has applied its proposed "traffic light" system of grading the healthiness of everyday foods. If implemented, the system would force manufacturers to label their products "green", "amber" or "red" - depending on fat, salt and sugar levels.

The cereals survey found that 85 out of 100 brands got a red light for sugar, 40 for salt and nine for fat. Of the 28 brands marketed directly at children, including such best-sellers as Kellogg's Frosties and Rice Crispies, 64 per cent scored "red" for their salt content.

Of the worst-offending 15 cereals aimed at children - all made by the

Kellogg's and Nestlé ­ultinationals - one contained almost four times the recommended limit on sugar.

Only a tiny proportion of the cereals earned three green lights for salt, fat and sugar, including Shredded Wheat and porridge brands such as Quaker Oats and Ready Brek.

The survey also looked at 11 cereal bars and found that, while better than sweet biscuits, they contained as much or more fat than a typical bowl of cereal, but less fibre.

Traffic-light grading is based on the Food Standards Agency's definitions of whether a product contains "a little" or "a lot" of unhealthy ingredients.

A Consumers' Association spokeswoman said cereals had been chosen for the first "name and shame" blitz because they are an everyday item in the shopping trolley, are heavily marketed at children, and because they are often the first thing eaten at the start of the day. Promoting the traffic-light grading system, she added: "It is not easy to judge which cereals are healthy and which are not."

Britain is one of the world's biggest cereal markets, with sales of more than £1 billion a year, but manufacturers say they have already taken huge steps to cut down levels of salt and sugar.

The cereal manufacturers have always argued their products are perfectly healthy as part of a balanced diet. The Food & Drink Federation, which represents the manufacturers, added: "It is daft to suggest individual foods are demons."