Campaigners call for a ban on freakshakes, could Chinese bubble waffles be next?
A British charity is calling for a ban on Instagram’s favourite dessert drinks after research finds that some contain six times the recommended daily amount of sugar.
According to a survey by Action on Sugar, milkshakes and freakshakes found in high street supermarkets and restaurants are full of hidden calories and sugar.
The worst offender is the Unicorn Freakshake from Toby Carvery which contains a grand total of 39 teaspoons of sugar. That’s over six times the recommended amount of sugar for a child between 7-10 years-old.
Five Guys’ Banana and Chocolate Shake was the second worst offender coming just two teaspoons short of the Unicorn Freakshake at 37 teaspoons of sugar.
Holly Gabriel ANutr, Nutrition Campaigner at Action on Sugar adds, “It is unnecessary and unacceptable to sell milkshakes with over half an adult’s daily calorie needs in a single serving. There should be a limit of 300kcal per serving on these drinks.
“If you choose to eat out in a restaurant or cafe, you could unknowingly be consuming up to four times the amount of sugar and calories compared to a similar product from a supermarket, which demonstrates how easy it is to reduce sugar and calories.”
The group is calling for a 300 calorie limit on milkshakes being sold in supermarkets along with introducing traffic light nutrition labelling on all menus within the UK.
Another incredibly Instagrammable dessert that includes a lot of sugar is the native Hong Kong bubble waffle.
It is basically a freakshake but with an egg waffle holding it all together as opposed to a glass cup. They’re often stuffed full of ice cream, chocolate, biscuits, and fruit.
The humble bubble waffle began in Hong Kong in the 1950s by street vendors who discovered they could save broken eggs that couldn’t be sold by turning them into egg waffles.
Since then, they have boomed across the world – much like freakshakes.
Could bubble waffles be the next sweet treat to face the wrath of campaigners?
