Consumer NZ wants nominations for its Bad Taste Food Awards which highlight New Zealand food companies marketing their products as better choices than they really are.
Consumer NZ chief executive Sue ChetwinChetwin says Consumer NZ’s research regularly uncovers foods masquerading as nutritionally superior options, from gourmet salt to sugar-laden breakfast cereals.
“We’re inviting consumers to join us in naming and shaming food marketers’ claims to put pressure on companies to clean up their act,” she says.
This is the second year Consumer NZ has run the awards. In 2016, Nutri-Grain was among the winners, singled out for being marketed as a healthier option even though it was more than a quarter sugar.
Other winners included 98 percent almond-free almond milk, Gatorade and Powerade sports drinks with their sizeable sugar hits, and Heinz Little Kids Fruit & Veg Shredz, which were nearly 70 percent sugar.