Sanitarium responds to low-fibre accusation

Sanitarium has defended its Up&Go liquid breakfast drink after consumer watchdog Choice called its ‘high in fibre’ claim into question in an article that critiqued the nutritional claims of liquid breakfasts.

Up&Go contains 3.8 g of fibre per serve, equivalent to 1.6% fibre. Choice called this amount “low” and said, “We consider breakfast products with at least 20% fibre as being very high in that nutrient, those more than 10% as high and those with less than 5% as low.”

In response, Sanitarium referenced the industry code of practice governing nutrient claims in Australia, which states that a food product must contain no less than 3 g of fibre per serve to carry the claim ‘high in fibre’.

“Sanitarium Up&Go fibre content of 3.8 grams is well in excess of the code of practice requirement to enable a ‘high fibre’ content claim,” said Michelle Reid, Accredited Practising Dietitian and Nutritionist for Sanitarium.

“If liquid breakfasts contained 20% fibre, as Choice proposes for a high fibre claim, there would be 50 grams of fibre per serve - which is almost double the recommended daily intake - and no doubt inedible. It would be like eating one-and-a-half loaves of wholegrain bread a day.”

Choice noted that, “In January, a new food standard to regulate nutrition content claims on food labels was introduced, with manufacturers given three years to comply. A product must now contain at least 4 g of fibre per serve before it can claim to be a good source of fibre.”

“Sanitarium - whose Up&Go products boast high fibre yet have under 4 g per serve - is one of several manufacturers that have much to change before the 2016 deadline,” the Choice article said.

The full Choice article is available here.