Tesco to ban Ribena and Capri-Sun along with other sugary drinks to tackle obesity

[LukeB]

Tesco has announced plans to axe sugary drinks, which would see some best-selling products by Ribena and Capri-Sun disappearing from shelves.

In measures aimed at tackling obesity to be rolled out before the start of the autumn term, sugary drinks aimed at children will be replaced by no-added-sugar alternatives.

Tesco’s soft drinks buying manager David Beardmore told The Grocer magazine: “This is part of our 10-point plan against obesity and we have decided that from September we will only sell no-added-sugar drinks in the kids' juice category.

“Most of the suppliers are supportive of it and understand what we are doing.”

A recent report advised parents to cut sugary drinks for their children's diets, as they are a major contributor to obesity.

Health campaigners have praised the supermarket for the changes, with Professor Graham McGregor, chairman of Action on Sugar, telling The Grocer that Tesco appears to be taking issues surrounding sugar “seriously”.

Malcolm Clark, the coordinator of the Children's Food Campaign, called the move a "positive step" but said more needed to be done.

He told The Independent that Tesco and other retailers should go further by not simply replacing sugar with sweetners.

"It should be about helping change the sweetness profile of children’s taste and trying to start educating children’s pallets so they don’t need so much sugar in all sorts of different products," he said.

He added that the Government should introduce a tax on sugary drinks, as evidence showed children do not only consume products marketed towards them.

"All retailers should be looking at how to cut sugar from all their products which make up the family shopping basket," he said.

A spokesman from Tesco said: “We want to help our customers make healthier choices and that’s why we have pledged to continue to cut sugar from the food and drink on our shelves. From September all the children’s juice drinks we sell will have no added sugar in them because we know it’ll make a positive difference to children’s health.”

The move is Tesco’s latest response to growing pressure from campaigners pressuring supermarkets to tackle the issue of obesity.

In 2014, the firm's chief executive, Dave Lewis, launched Project Reset and urged suppliers to remove added sugar from children's drinks.

The firm also banned sweets and chocolates from its checkouts last year, and pledged to replace the items with healthy alternatives.

However, the supermarket was criticised after crisps were found to have replaced sugary products.


yeah like that's going to stop obesity :umm2:

there's always fizzy drinks and other supermarkets that will sell those drinks, what a stupid idea.

[Crimson Dynamo]

Tesco is there to make money for their shareholders

End of

[Ninastar]

rip tesco

[Gstar]

Ribena is my favourite drink, tesco needs to not

[Amy Jade]

I need Strawberry Ribena tbh so go **** yourself Tesco

[reece(:]

It's not Tesco's job to combat obesity :umm2:

[Jason.]

Ribena isn't even unhealthy :umm2: One carton has less calories than a packet of crisps - why don't they stop selling those too.

smh.

[Mystic Mock]

Tesco to go under by the end of 2016 if they listen to the loud minority on this.

[Saph]

ew ribena is gross

[Rob!]

I really don't get what they're trying to achieve here - with Tescos already in such a **** position from the events of the last year or so, they think that by getting rid of at least 20 or so lines from their shelves, it's going to bring shoppers in?? :unsure:

[Brother Leon]

**** Tesco then. A man needs his Strawberry Ribena.

[armand.kay]

I'm not ****ing 6 so idc for either of these drinks.

[user104658]

Tesco: fighting childhood obesity and replacing it with cancer.

Because filling yourself with chemical sweeteners is so much healthier than sugar in moderation.

[user104658]

Oh and not to mention that they are doing this to "help shoppers make healthier choices" when, in my local Tesco, the tiny one-eighth-of-an-aisle that has drinks like Ribena sits right next to four aisles jam packed full of alcohol. Seriously, though. Just... what.

[RichardG]

I mean I can appreciate the intentions behind the decision but when there's aisles stacked full of crisps and chocolate and alcohol and all these other bad stuff just a few rows down from their 'no sugar alternative drinks', it kind of renders the change a bit pointless really. :shrug: Every little helps I guess...

[billy123]

This just seems like a publicity stunt to try and appear as a caring company.



DddYour posts are just utter nonsense at least attempt to post something that resembles the English language .

[user104658]

This just seems like a publicity stunt to try and appear as a caring company.

It's massively backfiring already, based on their Facebook page. No one wants a supermarket dictating what they can and can't consume.

And all they do is copy and paste the same stock reply about "helping people make healthier choices". Helping people make better choices by taking away the choice completely. No thanks Tesco.

[Kizzy]

Wouldn't dare touch any products from the coca cola company though would they?....

[Jay.]

i don't drink sugary drinks so

[Will.]

surely there are better things to ban lmao

I'm sure cigarettes have bigger impact of the human body than a cartoon of ribena.

WTF why are they banning capri sun, I love it, haven't had one on ages.

[Will.]

I can't imagine the meeting they had about this, like did someone say why don't we ban rebena and capri sun? pathetic Tesco.

[DemolitionRed]

Ribena comes out of a laboratory. The manufacturers of ribena are GlaxoSmithKlyne, the same company who also manufacture prescription drugs.

https://whatareyourchildreneating.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/ribena-falsely-advertised/

Ribena and its many variants are a mum’s favourite. “Rich in vitamin C”, “endorsed by the British Dental Association”, “kind to teeth”, are all claims that would have us believe Ribena is actually good for our children. But less advertised are the lawsuits against the manufacturers for their many false claims.

They claim that ‘the blackcurrents in Ribena have four times the vitamin C of oranges’ Ribena has NO detectable level of vitamin C. The manufacturers were sued for thousands over that lie, facing 88 counts of false advertising. They eventually pleaded guilty to 15 charges of breaching fair trading laws.
A study conducted by the Australian Consumers’ Association for Choice magazine in January 2007 revealed that blackcurrant juice only constituted 5% of the product with the rest being a processed concentrate.

Ribena Toothkind (endorsed by the British Dental Association), has in fact been found to contain a significant amount of sugar, and has been banned from using the claim: “discourages tooth decay”.

Loopholes in the law make it possible for the manufacturers of drinks like Ribena to advertise “Sugar-Free” even when they contain sugars. In fact, “Ribena contains 8 teaspoons of sugar per 330ml bottle. This makes it more sugary than Coke.”

Its just an unhealthy and misleading product that has been formulated in a laboratory and the only Ribena Tesco is removing is the small cartons aimed at children.

Tesco is nothing more than a food retailers and as such, has the right to put what ever it wants on its shelves.

I don't normally shop at Tesco because its a mile further than my local supermarket but because I strongly support their stand on misleading labels, I will be driving that extra mile in future and buying my groceries from them. Tesco are not removing mini cartoned Ribena because they are being awkward but because they see it for what it is...misleading.

[armand.kay]

Your posts are just utter nonsense at least attempt to post something that resembles the English language .

You seem really upset about something. What's up Hun? X

[Kizzy]

Ribena comes out of a laboratory. The manufacturers of ribena are GlaxoSmithKlyne, the same company who also manufacture prescription drugs.

https://whatareyourchildreneating.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/ribena-falsely-advertised/

Ribena and its many variants are a mum’s favourite. “Rich in vitamin C”, “endorsed by the British Dental Association”, “kind to teeth”, are all claims that would have us believe Ribena is actually good for our children. But less advertised are the lawsuits against the manufacturers for their many false claims.

They claim that ‘the blackcurrents in Ribena have four times the vitamin C of oranges’ Ribena has NO detectable level of vitamin C. The manufacturers were sued for thousands over that lie, facing 88 counts of false advertising. They eventually pleaded guilty to 15 charges of breaching fair trading laws.
A study conducted by the Australian Consumers’ Association for Choice magazine in January 2007 revealed that blackcurrant juice only constituted 5% of the product with the rest being a processed concentrate.

Ribena Toothkind (endorsed by the British Dental Association), has in fact been found to contain a significant amount of sugar, and has been banned from using the claim: “discourages tooth decay”.

Loopholes in the law make it possible for the manufacturers of drinks like Ribena to advertise “Sugar-Free” even when they contain sugars. In fact, “Ribena contains 8 teaspoons of sugar per 330ml bottle. This makes it more sugary than Coke.”

Its just an unhealthy and misleading product that has been formulated in a laboratory and the only Ribena Tesco is removing is the small cartons aimed at children.

Tesco is nothing more than a food retailers and as such, has the right to put what ever it wants on its shelves.

I don't normally shop at Tesco because its a mile further than my local supermarket but because I strongly support their stand on misleading labels, I will be driving that extra mile in future and buying my groceries from them. Tesco are not removing mini cartoned Ribena because they are being awkward but because they see it for what it is...misleading.

Ribena hasn't been endorsed by the BDA for years and they removed the toothkind advertising.
Cans of fizzy pop are 330ml and they all contain over 8 tsps of sugar, coca cola has 9.
Cola has many uses.. cleaning oil of your driveway and rotting metal being just 2.

http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/jun/12/how-much-sugar-is-in-your-fizzy-drink

[DemolitionRed]

Would you give your two year old a can of coca cola ?

On a side note, I work for a dental organization and regularly witness a parents shame when they are told that their child's teeth have rotted away. Child tooth decay in the UK is massive and I'm talking pre-school children. The most likely culprit is concentrated fruit juice and squashes like Ribena.

If adults want to go ahead and risk this stuff then fine but its not something we should be giving to our kids unless its just an occasional treat.

[rubymoo]

Tesco: fighting childhood obesity and replacing it with cancer.

Because filling yourself with chemical sweeteners is so much healthier than sugar in moderation.

Well said TS:clap1:

It gets my goat that sugar is replaced by cancer causing chemicals and sweeteners, the evidence is right there and they still put chemicals into a lot of our foods and drinks.

In the local Co-op they have replaced regular sugar in squash with sweeteners and chemicals, they've started to do this in Tesco with their Hi-Juice (you can still get Hi-Juice with the green lid, this has sugar in), there seems to be a phasing out as the green lids are replaced with blue lids indicating sugar free (meaning poisoned with sweeteners and chemicals).

Whilst sugar has no nutritional value, chemicals and sweeteners are known to be carcinogens, yet they continue to put them in our drinks and food.

Give me regular sugar any day over sweeteners!

[rubymoo]

Ribena hasn't been endorsed by the BDA for years and they removed the toothkind advertising.
Cans of fizzy pop are 330ml and they all contain over 8 tsps of sugar, coca cola has 9.
Cola has many uses.. cleaning oil of your driveway and rotting metal being just 2.

http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/jun/12/how-much-sugar-is-in-your-fizzy-drink

Its also good at cleaning toilets:hehe:

[DemolitionRed]

Well said TS:clap:

Whilst sugar has no nutritional value, chemicals and sweeteners are known to be carcinogens, yet they continue to put them in our drinks and food.

Give me regular sugar any day over sweeteners!

I agree but finding a regular sugar can also be confusing. Most table sugar on our supermarket shelves contains 60% crystallised fructose and that stuff is the same as high fructose corn syrup. When we shop for sugar we need to look out for 'pure cane sugar' and even then read the ingredients. Unfortunately fructose can still be labelled just as 'sugar'.

Yes, calories have no nutritional value but our body still recognises what it is. When we put something in our bodies (chemically modified) that our body doesn't recognise, it doesn't know what to do with it so conserves it and converts it into fat. Diet products are a nightmare for this.

[Daniel-X]

http://remotecontrol.mtv.com//wp-content/uploads/rc/2012/08/Sammi.gif

[user104658]

Well said TS:clap:

It gets my goat that sugar is replaced by cancer causing chemicals and sweeteners, the evidence is right there and they still put chemicals into a lot of our foods and drinks.

In the local Co-op they have replaced regular sugar in squash with sweeteners and chemicals, they've started to do this in Tesco with their Hi-Juice (you can still get Hi-Juice with the green lid, this has sugar in), there seems to be a phasing out as the green lids are replaced with blue lids indicating sugar free (meaning poisoned with sweeteners and chemicals).

Whilst sugar has no nutritional value, chemicals and sweeteners are known to be carcinogens, yet they continue to put them in our drinks and food.

Give me regular sugar any day over sweeteners!
Yep, sugar has no nutritional value but there's nothing inherently wrong with it in reasonable amounts. The only issue with it is that it's high in calories. It's still not going to make you fat, unless you're taking in more calories than you're burning. It's a really simple formula! Yes you can go overboard with sugar in drinks because it's easier to take in more calories than you realise with liquid than with food... But a few glasses / cartons a day is simply not going to be a problem. It's also azure perfectly acceptable quick energy source if you haven't had much to eat.

For a while it seemed like we were getting past the sugar / fat vilification but it seems like we're right back to it, and promoting synthetic rubbish.

In short, if you eat real food and not too much of it, you won't get fat. If you have proper nutrition and keep your teeth clean, they won't decay. Tesco can bugger off.

[rubymoo]

I agree but finding a regular sugar can also be confusing. Most table sugar on our supermarket shelves contains 60% crystallised fructose and that stuff is the same as high fructose corn syrup. When we shop for sugar we need to look out for 'pure cane sugar' and even then read the ingredients. Unfortunately fructose can still be labelled just as 'sugar'.

Yes, calories have no nutritional value but our body still recognises what it is. When we put something in our bodies (chemically modified) that our body doesn't recognise, it doesn't know what to do with it so conserves it and converts it into fat. Diet products are a nightmare for this.

I didn't know this!:shocked:

It's disgusting that they can mislabel food and drinks, and they wonder why the nations health is suffering:(

[rubymoo]

Yep, sugar has no nutritional value but there's nothing inherently wrong with it in reasonable amounts. The only issue with it is that it's high in calories. It's still not going to make you fat, unless you're taking in more calories than you're burning. It's a really simple formula! Yes you can go overboard with sugar in drinks because it's easier to take in more calories than you realise with liquid than with food... But a few glasses / cartons a day is simply not going to be a problem. It's also azure perfectly acceptable quick energy source if you haven't had much to eat.

For a while it seemed like we were getting past the sugar / fat vilification but it seems like we're right back to it, and promoting synthetic rubbish.

In short, if you eat real food and not too much of it, you won't get fat. If you have proper nutrition and keep your teeth clean, they won't decay. Tesco can bugger off.

Absolutely!

I'm actually starting to cook (learn to cook) like my grandparents did, i try to buy real food, and bake with ingredients that are pure, and when i'm making cakes or biscuits, then i use sugar!

Like you say it's everything in moderation:wavey:

[Kizzy]

Everything has sugar in it, take all the cereal off the shelves it has tablespoons of sugar in per serving! Diet meals and bars have masses of sugar in to replace the fat removed bin them too.
glucose
sucrose
maltose
corn syrup
honey
hydrolysed starch
invert sugar
fructose
molasses

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1139.aspx?categoryid=51
4wXjA3Z9fqE

[user104658]

Everything has sugar in it, take all the cereal off the shelves it has tablespoons of sugar in per serving! Diet meals and bars have masses of sugar in to replace the fat removed bin them too.
glucose
sucrose
maltose
corn syrup
honey
hydrolysed starch
invert sugar
fructose
molasses

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1139.aspx?categoryid=51
4wXjA3Z9fqE
Exactly, "diet" meals are packed with sugar and salt, it's all nonsense. If you eat good, fresh food (and a sensible amount of it) 95% of the time and are active, your weight will take care of itself, and the other 5% - a bit of chocolate here and there, a glass of delicious sugary Ribena - will not be a problem.

On the most basic level, anyway, the bulk of this country's obesity problem is quite simply a combination of eating too much (even good foods, most make portion sizes far too big) and not doing enough to burn the energy (lots of retail and desk jobs, not much manual work, kids wrapped in bubble wrap in their houses by scared parents instead of out being active).

[Livia]

Exactly, "diet" meals are packed with sugar and salt, it's all nonsense. If you eat good, fresh food (and a sensible amount of it) 95% of the time and are active, your weight will take care of itself, and the other 5% - a bit of chocolate here and there, a glass of delicious sugary Ribena - will not be a problem.

On the most basic level, anyway, the bulk of this country's obesity problem is quite simply a combination of eating too much (even good foods, most make portion sizes far too big) and not doing enough to burn the energy (lots of retail and desk jobs, not much manual work, kids wrapped in bubble wrap in their houses by scared parents instead of out being active).

Totally agree.

[user104658]

Totally agree.
Surely not! I'd say that hell has frozen over, but I've heard Jews don't have hell. And godless heathens like me definitely don't.

[Jords]

tbh it should be down to the individual (or parent) to make healthier decisions influenced by concerns and recommendations... Those who want to make unhealthy choices will seek unhealthy foods and drinks.

[Jords]

Exactly, "diet" meals are packed with sugar and salt, it's all nonsense. If you eat good, fresh food (and a sensible amount of it) 95% of the time and are active, your weight will take care of itself, and the other 5% - a bit of chocolate here and there, a glass of delicious sugary Ribena - will not be a problem.

On the most basic level, anyway, the bulk of this country's obesity problem is quite simply a combination of eating too much (even good foods, most make portion sizes far too big) and not doing enough to burn the energy (lots of retail and desk jobs, not much manual work, kids wrapped in bubble wrap in their houses by scared parents instead of out being active).

Great post!

[Livia]

Surely not! I'd say that hell has frozen over, but I've heard Jews don't have hell. And godless heathens like me definitely don't.

You're right sometimes TS. Sometimes...

[Jamesy]

I don't buy the whole 'tackle obesity' claim for this. If they were stripping away all sugary products from their stores then fair enough, but picking two products which are quite low in sugar compared to what else you can buy in a Tesco store this doesn't really make any logical sense.

It just all sounds like some silly publicity stunt to me.

[user104658]

I don't buy the whole 'tackle obesity' claim for this. If they were stripping away all sugary products from their stores then fair enough, but picking two products which are quite low in sugar compared to what else you can buy in a Tesco store this doesn't really make any logical sense.

It just all sounds like some silly publicity stunt to me.
A publicity stunt specifically aimed at losing customers? It seems like an odd decision!

[DemolitionRed]

tbh it should be down to the individual (or parent) to make healthier decisions influenced by concerns and recommendations... Those who want to make unhealthy choices will seek unhealthy foods and drinks.

I would go along with that but unfortunately we are being misguided with what's on the label.

I took a look at the ingredients in Ribena (no added sugar) variety.

Water, Blackcurrant Juice from Concentrate (7%), Malic Acid, Acidity Regulators (Calcium Hydroxide, Calcium Carbonate), Citric Acid, Sweeteners (Aspartame, Acesulfame K), Vitamin C, Stabiliser (Xanthan Gum), Flavouring, Preservatives (Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Bisulphite), Colour (Anthocyanins), Contains a source of Phenylalanine, Product before dilution contains 35% Juice

Aspartame is the devil itself when it comes to sweeteners and studies show that this low calorie alternative sugar can cause anything from severe allergies to liver damage, cancer and premature births.

Acesulfame K... another sweetener and a known carcinogen.

Xanthan gum is another glucose based solution.

And then of course we have concentrated juice which is anything but natural. To make juice concentrate you have to remove the water. Unfortunately that also removes the flavour and so has to be reconstituted. This is done with a cocktail of chemicals.

The labels are misleading. Sometimes I think you need to be a chemist to fully understand all this unnatural ****e. People that manufacture this stuff rely on our naivety.

Morbid obesity in this country is in epidemic proportions and yet people are trying to lose weight and failing at the first hurdle because diet products are one big lie. All this sudden health awareness is pointless if food manufacturers are allowed to disguise the word 'sugar' and mislead us into believing we are eating a healthy low calorie diet. If something is low in sugar but our bodies can't get rid of that sugar because it doesn't recognise what it is, then we are on a hiding to nothing

[Jamesy]

A publicity stunt specifically aimed at losing customers? It seems like an odd decision!

Taking out two drinks is hardly going to lose customers. It might lose a few, but hardly enough to make an impact.

It just really doesn't make sense to remove two products when you sell 100s of others with far higher sugar content.

[user104658]

Oh also to add to the dangers of synthetic sweeteners: they psychologically trick you into eating. Your body realises it's getting something sweet, which is interpreted as an intake of sugar, so it "expects" to get the associated energy boost, but then it never comes. Body then craves the expected sugar hit.

In short: if you arent hungry, then you consume sweeteners, 15 minutes later you'll feel hungry.

[Liam-]

Ribena is rank anyway so idc

[user104658]

Taking out two drinks is hardly going to lose customers. It might lose a few, but hardly enough to make an impact.

It just really doesn't make sense to remove two products when you sell 100s of others with far higher sugar content.
I think it will have a noticeable effect on their business. It's not because they're not selling the products... It's the message. People don't like to be patronised. 5 to 10 years ago Tesco could have gotten away with it no problem, but they are already in HUGE financial trouble and can't afford stunts like this.

[Ammi]

..I have to say that all of the paediatric health/diet websites that I've looked at mostly say that they feel no added sugar/artificial sweetener drinks are ok with children 'in moderation'..everything in life I think is moderation ..anyway that aside because I'm sure other studies/websites will counter it, the article isn't saying all Ribena/Capri Sun etc but only the 'children's lunchbox' ones specifically to possibly be removed for the start of the new term year, which seems like a strange stance to take because people if they want to will only buy it in a different version or go to another supermarket...it's like when they took the sweets/chocolate away from the checkout area/well that stopped those little children from eating them, didn't it/that showed them..:fist:...I prefer Sainsbury's anyway...

[user104658]

Sainsbury's!! I never knew Ammi woz posh.

[Ammi]

..no it's not posh TS but lazy because it's by far the easiest supermarket for me to get to and I haven't got the online provisions shop thing down yet as I see my weekly trip there as my social life and very exciting...