Iced coffee blends sold by leading high street brands routinely include more sugar than the daily recommended intake for an adult, a new survey has found.
Consumer organisation Which? compared frappès and frappuccinos from three of the UK’s biggest chains – Caffe Nero, Costa and Starbucks – and found many to have exceptionally high sugar levels.
Among the worst offenders was a Starbucks caramel frappuccino with semi-skimmed milk that contained 48.5g of sugar, the equivalent of 12 teaspoons. A Caffe Nero Belgian chocolate & hazelnut frappè crème contained 44.5g of sugar, while Costa’s chocolate fudge brownie frappè mocha with oat milk had a sugar content of 42.6g.
NHS health advice suggests adults consume a maximum of 30g of free sugars (added sugars and those found naturally in syrups, honey and fruit juice) per day.
The survey found that iced versions of standard coffees sold by the chains contained far lower levels of sugar due to the absence of syrups used for frappès and frappuccinos.
Iced coffees like frappès and frappuccinos are not covered by the UK government’s soft drinks industry levy, despite containing more sugar than some drinks that are subject to it, according to Which?.
Voluntary policy measures to reduce the sugar content in food and drink have largely ended in failure. The final results of the government’s voluntary sugar reformulation programme, published in December last year, found thatbusinesses in the out of home sector recorded just a 0.2% reduction in the average sugar content in products sold between 2017 and 2020 against a 20% target.
Coffee shops are now legally required to display calories on their menus but are not required to display sugar content, which is a requirement for pre-packaged products.
“Our analysis of sugar content in iced coffee blends shows people could unwittingly be consuming much more sugar than they realise, with potentially damaging implications for their health,” said Which? nutritionist, Shefalee Loth.
“High street chains need to take more responsibility and reduce the excessive sugar content of some of their drinks to protect people’s health. When buying an iced drink, there are alternative, healthier options to choose, such as a standard iced coffee, which contains far less sugar.”
In response, Costa told Which? it offered a balanced range of drinks and that all drinks can be customised to reduce the calorie or sugar content. Starbucks also said it offered a range of customisation options and provided nutritional information on its mobile app, online and on menu boards. Caffé Nero told Which? its drinks aren’t subject to the sugar tax.
