Nearly a dozen sampled drinks exceed WHO’s recommended sugar levels

The Consumer Council of Macao (CC) has tested 15 bottled tea drinks and discovered only three of them had sugar levels within the daily limit recommended by the WHO.

The three products are Kai Shi Oolong Tea, AGV Barley Drink and Kirin Straight Tea. The former two are from Taiwan and the latter from Japan.

According to the CC, the WHO has two daily limits set for daily sugar intake. The recommended limit is 25 grams per day and the strict limit is 50 grams. The figures are calculated against a 2000-kilocalorie diet.

Nine of the 15 drinks sampled had sugar levels surpassing the recommended limit of the WHO, while three surpassed the strict limit. The sample with the highest sugar level had sugar consistency equivalent to 13 sugar cubes, the CC reported.

The higher the sugar level, the higher the energy level. The CC appeals to members of the public not to replace water with tea drinks because “excessive sugar and energy intake negatively impacts health.”

The CC also reminds members of the public, when they want to drink sugary drinks, to opt for drinks with lower or even zero sugar level. They should also be mindful of the caffeine level in their tea drinks.

The product that had the highest sugar level was VITA’s Lemon Tea Drink. It was tested with 65 grams of sugar in a 500mL bottle. AL