The average child will receive between 8-10 Easter eggs this weekend.
We investigate the comparative sugar content in fourteen popular chocolate brands, and were surprised at the range of added sugar found.
Lowest added sugar
(4.5 - 7 sugar cubes per 100g)
Unsurprisingly the highest cocoa eggs had the lowest sugar per 100g, and these three fairtrade goodies came in lowest at:
Hotel Chocolate Egg Sandwich dark 150g - 18.8g per 100g
Divine Dark Chocolate tasting egg 340g - 27g per 100g
Green and Blacks Dark egg 165g - 28.5g per 100g
Medium added sugar
(8-10 sugar cubes per 100g)
Next best were in the 30g-40g per 100g category:
Moo free chocolate egg 100g - 33.7g per 100g
Lindt dark choc bunny 100g - 35g per 100g
Hotel Chocolat Egg on my face slab 200g - 40.8g per 100g
High added sugar
(13-14 sugar cubes per 100g)
All remaining Easter eggs had over 50% sugar content, including:
Kinder Surprise Large Egg 100g - 53.6g per 100g
Thorntons Gruffalo Egg 162g - 54g sugar per 100g
Lindt Gold bunny 100g - 55g sugar per 100g
Milky Bar Barn egg 160g - 55.1g per 100g ***
Highest added sugar
(14-17 sugar cubes per 100g)
And the worst contenders also contained palm oil products.
Lidl Bertie bunny 150g - 56.2g per 100g ***
Maltesers large chocolate easter egg 265g -58.3 g per 100g ***
Cadbury Creme Eggs 40g each - 66.5g per 100g ***
Cadbury Mini eggs 90g - 68.5g per 100g ***
*** Note these eggs list palm oil fat in their ingredients (yuk!) but have been included for comparative purposes.
Top tips for choosing better Easter eggs
- Choose higher cocoa chocolate (70%+)
- Choose smaller eggs with a toy or or Easter themed gift
- Scan barcodes with the Change4Life Sugar Smart app to check sugar levels if not clear from labelling
- Organic and fairtrade eggs won't necessarily be healthier, but less ingredients (and an absence of palm oil) usually usually indicate a better quality chocolate.