The Food Detectives

Are you fed up with the misleading nutrition spin on the packaging of children's foods in the supermarket?

The Parents Jury's Food Detectives will expose the truth behind food marketing spin by comparing the claims on popular children's foods to the real ingredients they contain. Will the nutritional quality live up to the hype?

Suspect: Sugary drinks

We have investigated over 40 popular drinks and have apprehended carbonated fruit juices as an entire category of Worst Offenders, for being heavy on spin and light on good nutrition. Read our full report to find out why.

Many parents and children find themselves unwittingly purchasing foods and drinks they believe to be healthy because of nutrition claims and endorsements proclaimed on boxes or made in advertising campaigns. Often these foods are not what they appear to be.

Commonly used claims include:

"contains essential vitamins and minerals"
"no artificial flavourings or colourings"
"99% fat free"
"contains real fruit"
"source of fibre"

Unfortunately, a product that is fat free may also contain 46% sugar, and a product that is touted as containing real fruit may be so minimal in its content it barely contains more than a trace of apple or banana. Close inspection of the ingredients list and Nutrition Information Panel is required to get the full picture. Many people don't know how to do this and are left feeling either mislead or thoroughly confused.

What happens next?

Rosemary Stanton and the Food Detectives team will consider every nomination carefully and weigh up the claims the manufacturers are making against the true nutrition information for each product. We will compile a list of Cereal Offenders and those worthy of a Badge of Honour and take the results to the media to highlight the winners in each category. We will also write to the manufacturers to let them know why Australian parents are unhappy with their spin.

Additional nutrition information

The chart below shows criteria for low, medium and high amounts of fats, sugar and sodium for food (per 100g). Click the image below to print a wallet size version to help you make healthier choices (Criteria from CHOICE).

The Food Detectives

What happens next?

Additional nutrition information

Further reading