Ready meals with more sugar than a chocolate bar

New Which? research reveals the supermarket ready meals that are high in added sugar, with some containing 50g of sugar – your entire recommended daily allowance.

We looked at 17 ready meals and found:

• Sainsbury’s Sweet and Sour with Chicken and Rice contained 50.7g of sugar, the equivalent of around 10 teaspoons per pack and almost double that of a standard size Dairy Milk chocolate bar which contains 25.5g of sugar.
• Tesco Thai Chicken Pad Thai with Rice Noodles may seem a healthy option but contained 37.8g of sugar, which is more than a can of Coca-Cola
• Tesco Everyday Value Sweet and Sour Chicken with Rice was also high in sugar, containing 48.4g per pack.
• Added sugar is the third or fourth ingredient in all of these meals and the main source of sugar.

Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd, said:

“With rising obesity rates, it is shocking to find that ready meals contain more sugar than a chocolate bar. We want the Government to set clear targets for calorie reduction as part of the Responsibility Deal with food businesses.”

Notes to editors

1.    We looked at 17 ready meals and the added sugar in them:

2.  Standard size Dairy Milk has 25.5g of sugar

3.  Standard can of Coca-Cola has 35g of sugar​

Press Release: Food