A carton of flavoured milk can contain as much sugar as a can of soft drink, consumers have been warned.
Analysis of more than 90 popular chilled flavoured dairy milks reveals many of the best-sellers contain more than a day's worth of added sugar in a single hit.
The worst offender was Ice Break 750ml Iced Coffee with nine teaspoons of added sugar per bottle, the equivalent of 22 red frog lollies, according to the research released by Cancer Council Victoria on Friday.
A can of Coca-Cola contains 10 teaspoons of added sugar.
The World Health Organisation recommends no more than six teaspoons of added sugar in a day.
Registered dietitian and LiveLighter Campaign Manager Alison McAleese says any nutritional value of the milk - which contains calcium, protein and vitamin D - is outweighed by the excess sugar these drinks contain.
"You would never add nine teaspoons of sugar to milk yourself, so understanding the huge sugar content of these drinks should come as a wake-up call to consumers and help with changing habits," said Ms McAleese.
"These drinks may seem like an easy go-to option, but we want people to realise they could easily be knocking back an entire day's worth of sugar with just one drink," she said.
THE WORST OFFENDERS:
1. Ice Break Regular Strength Iced coffee 750ml - 9.2 teaspoons of sugar
2. Ice Break Extra Shot Iced Coffee 750ml - 8.6 teaspoons
3. Brownes Chocolate Honeycomb 500ml - 8.5 teaspoons
4. Oak Chocolate Milk 600ml - 8.4 teaspoons
5. Oak Vanilla Malt 600ml - 8.0 teaspoons
6. Oak Molten Caramel 600ml - 7.7 teaspoons
7. Dare Double Espresso 750ml - 7.5 teaspoons
8. Big M Choc Original 600ml - 7.4 teaspoons
9. Brownes Chocolate Chill 600ml 7.2 teaspoons
10. Masters Strawberry 600ml - 7.2 teaspoons
11. Oak Banana 600ml - 7.2 teaspoons
(Source: LiveLighter, Cancer Council Victoria)
