Shops slammed for misleading 'health foods'

Popular summer foods which claim to be healthy are today criticised for containing little fresh fruit or vegetables.

Watchdogs found that the labels on fruit juices, cheese and meats were often extremely misleading. While claiming to be healthy to attract the discerning shopper, most contained little fresh produce and high levels of fat and sugar. The Consumers' Association said that it was an outrage that firms were selling products using confusing wording.

Sheila McKechnie, director of the Consumers' Association, said that laws needed to be tightened to stop consumers from being duped.

"Yet again we have exposed how current laws leave food manufacturers free to abuse consumers by printing enticing labels that are not always clear," she said.