Fruit juice should not be counted as one of your 5 A Day because it is confusing for parents, campaigners in the UK have said.
Action on Sugar has claimed that not only do many children's juices contain at least six teaspoons of sugar, which is more than leading soft-drink brands, but that they also come in carton sizes that are larger than recommended.
Official health guidance currently suggests that a 150ml glass of unsweetened fruit juice counts towards your 5 A Day, but other juice drinks, such as squash and sweetened juice, do not.
A smoothie containing all the edible pulped fruit or vegetable may count as more than one 5 A Day portion, but this depends on the quantity of fruits or vegetables or juice used, as well as how the smoothie has been made.
Action on Sugar, though, says the guidelines can be confusing for consumers.
A spokesperson for Public Health England retorted that the advice it gives is 'sound', and that consuming five or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day helps reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers.
And the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) told BBC News that fruit juice consumption in the UK equated to an average of just 45ml per person per day - accounting for 1 per cent of the calories in the average British diet.
'Given government figures show that the vast majority of adults and children are not getting their recommended five fruit and veg a day, it is unfortunate this survey omits to mention the established health benefits of fruit juice, such as vitamin C,' BSDA director-general Gavin Partington said.
According to British government guidelines, added sugars shouldn't make up more than 10 per cent of the energy (calorie intake) people get from food and drink each day. This is the equivalent of 12 teaspoons of sugar.
The World Health Organization, meanwhile, recently issued guidelines suggesting that cutting the amount of sugar we eat from the current recommended limit of 10 per cent of daily energy intake to 5 per cent would be beneficial.
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