Action on Sugar, the bastard offspring of Consensus Action on Salt, has noticed that dried fruit contains sugar. As with every utterance from the pressure group, the BBC thinks this is newsworthy. Based on an unpublished undergraduate research project, Action on Sugar says that 85 per cent of fruit snacks’ contain more sugar than 100 grammes of Haribo sweets – ‘with some containing over 4 teaspoons of sugar!’, as the excitable press release proclaims.
In these intellectually stunted times, a teaspoon of sugar is rapidly becoming a unit of harm that requires no further explanation. To be clear, a teaspoon of sugar only contains 16 calories. As an adult male, I am told I need 2,500 calories a day to maintain a healthy weight. A ten year old child requires 2,000 calories. If a ‘fruit snack’ contains 64 calories, I think we can handle it.
If we must talk about fructose and glucose in terms of ‘teaspoons’ of sugar – and if four teaspoons is a hazardous amount – it should be said that there are six teaspoons in an orange and five teaspoons in an apple.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in