SWEET SPOTTER

From smoothies to granola bars, Hannah Twiggs identifies the hidden sugars lurking in your 'healthy' diet choices

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The government has announced it could extend the sugar tax to include pre-packaged milk-based drinks like bottled milkshakes and iced coffees. It's a smart move because sugar is hiding in places you wouldn't expect, and in quantities that would make a Haribo share bag blush.

Many of the foods and drinks we think of as wholesome, virtuous or vaguely good for you are packed with added sugar. Not always under the name “sugar”, of course – food labels are masterclasses in misdirection, with terms like glucose syrup, agave nectar, maltodextrin and concentrated fruit juice doing a lot of heavy lifting.

Some of these products are even marketed as diet-friendly, protein-rich or plant-based. But check the label and you’ll often find they contain as much sugar as the things we’re told to avoid.

And even when brands have “reformulated” products to dodge sugar taxes, the result isn’t always better: sweeteners, emulsifiers and additives are often added instead – the hallmarks of ultra-processed foods, which growing research suggests could harm gut health and drive overconsumption.

Here are just a few of the biggest offenders…

Milkshakes

Milk-based drinks have long flown under the radar when it comes to sugar content, but that’s finally starting to change with the government’s planned expansion of the sugar tax. Take Müller Frijj Chocolate Milkshake (330ml), for example: it contains a staggering 37.6g of sugar – more than the entire NHS recommended daily maximum of 30g for an adult. That’s more sugar than a can of Pepsi (4.55g per 100ml) or Irn-Bru (4.7g per 100ml), which are already subject to the levy.