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‘Up & Go claims are healthy’, Sanitarium hits back at Choice

Sanitarium has hit back at consumer watchdog Choice stating that its popular Up & Go liquid breakfast range is indeed a nutritious product.

Choice released a statement yesterday claiming that an independent investigation conducted by the watchdog found that many liquid breakfast lines, including Sanitarium’s Up & Go, made misleading claims regarding fibre content.

Sanitarium says that the current code of practice on nutrient claims state that a food product must contain no less than 3 grams of fibre per serve to warrant a ‘high in fibre’ claim, and that Up & Go contains 3.8 grams.

“Sanitarium Up & Go fibre content of 3.8 grams is well in excess of the Code of Practice requirement to enable a “high fibre” content claim,” said Michelle Reid, accredited practicing dietician and nutritionist for Sanitarium.

“If liquid breakfasts contained 20 percent fibre, as Choice proposes for a high fibre claim, there would be 50 grams of fibre per serve – which is almost double the recommended daily intake – and no doubt inedible! It would be like eating one and a half loaves of wholegrain bread a day.”

“Sanitarium recognises that many time poor consumers often miss sitting down for breakfast which is why Up&Go has been formulated to contain the same quantity of energy, protein and fibre as a serve of Weet-Bix and milk” said Reid.

According to the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) website, new legislation regarding nutrient content and health claims on food labels and in advertisements became law on 18 January this year.

The website claims that from that date, food manufacturers will have three years to comply with the new standard which states that in order for a company to claim that their product contains a “Good Source” of dietary fibre, a serving of the food must contain at least 4 grams of dietary fibre.

 

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