By Rebecca Cox and produced for online by Kristy McMahon
Consumer lobby group Choice says labels on fruit drinks are misleading.
Queensland Association of School Tuckshops executive services manager Christine Ogden says parents need to be wary of poppers with too few checking the labelling.
“They are popular they are probably one of the four most popular drinks that we would promote in school tuckshops but the juice has to be 100 per cent fruit juice to be classified as AMBER on the smart choices strategy,” she says.
Choice media spokesperson Ingrid Just says only a quarter of the 100 tested contained 25 per cent or less juice.
“We were looking at the percentage of juice in each, we were looking at the sugar content, the serving size, additives and also the price and we found that a quarter of those that we looked at contained 25 per cent or less juice,” she says.
However, Fruit Juice Australia’s chief executive officer Geoff Parker says there is an unnecessary focus on the sugar content.
“Sugar isn’t bad, everything in moderation as part of a balanced diet combined with physical activity there is no such thing as a bad food or drink,” he says.
Choice says any parents who are concerned about which popper to buy should check the nutritional label before buying.