Campaigners Call for Fruit Juice Ban from Healthy Food List Over 'More Sugar than Coke'

Campaigners are urging the government to remove fruit juice from the list of recommended healthy food and drink for children to consume daily as many products contain more sugar than Coca Cola.

Public Health England advice currently says 150ml glass of unsweetened fruit juice counts towards your five a day, but Action on Sugar found that many children's juice boxes contain at least six teaspoons of sugar - more than coke.

However, PHE insists that fruit juice is healthy and still count towards your five a day.

"Fruit juice is a useful contribution towards our five a day, however, because the process of juicing releases sugars from the fruit we recommend that you try to limit your fruit juice to 150ml a day, including that from smoothies and only consume these and other sugary drinks with meals to reduce the risk of tooth decay," said Dr Alison Tedstone of PHE.

Government guidelines state that added sugars shouldn't make up more than 10% of the energy (calorie intake), which is around 12 teaspoons of sugar.

Meanwhile the World Health Organization said if people cut the amount of sugar they consume by 10% to 5%, there would be benefits.