concentrated in the form of sauce.... So I have not separated out the sugar intake from tomatoes from my analysis. The purpose is really to show that some baked beans are higher than others, and that label reading is a good idea, but do keep in mind that some of the sugar will be from the tomatoes.
?sugars to take note of
The added sugars you should take notice of are
- Added sugar
- Added fruit juice concentrates
Things to know about added sugar, it doesn't matter if it is organic or raw, or brown or white, it all falls into the same category as far as the WHO organisation is concerned.
Things to know about added fruit juice concentrates, from a WHO these are considered to be just the same as added cane sugar. It is a way companies can add sweetness to products and it is not considered any healthier than added cane sugar. So be a label detective. Although the label might say no added cane sugar, if it contains added ?fruit juice concentrates then it is just the same!
Sugar content of 10 brands of baked beans
Product Brand & Name
per 1/2 Can serve
Wattie's Full of BEANZ
Oak Baked Beans
Budget Baked Beans
Pams Baked Beans
Heinz BEANZ English Recipe
Watties 5 BEANZ
Whole Earth Baked Beans
Wattie's Full of BEANZ lite
Delmaine Baked Beans
Ceres Organics Organic Baked Beans
As you can see above there is a big variation in the sugar content of commercial baked beans. In the 10 brands I looked at the range was from over 3.5 teaspoons of sugar per serve to just over 1.5 teaspoons per serve. So a 2 teaspoon difference. Which in reality is quite significant. Especially when you consider the ideal daily sugar intake for a 2 year old is no more than 3 teaspoons per day. It is definitely worth being a label reader when it comes to baked beans. The Ceres brand is quite an expensive one, (but there are definitely some better choices on the list than possibly the old favourite Watties baked beans. Even some of the other baked beans options within the Watties family have significantly less sugar than their base product.
My kids are big fans of the Delmaine Baked Beans and we have these on occasion. I have to confess I am one of those mums who often makes her own baked beans. (Which is I know is not going to be for everyone) ?
Daily Sugar Guidelines for Children
I mentioned above the ideal daily added sugar intake ?for a 2 year old is 3 teaspoons. To expand on this I have created some graphics which show the recommended daily intakes of sugar for kids y age.
Green = ideal less than 5% of daily energy
Orange = between 5-10% of total energy
Red = Maximum, Kids should not be having more than 10% of their daily energy intake come from added sugar.
You can find a full explanation to these guidelines at the following links
The Sugar Gallery
I am busy building a sugar gallery
The gallery is made up of easy to understand graphics and images for parents, showing how much sugar everyday food items can contribute to children’s daily sugar intakes. If that sounds like something useful, then head over and check it out!