While it's definitely not a surprising fact to hear about various coffee shops exceeding the recommended amount of sugar they put on food and beverages, Starbucks regulars might get a little too surprised to know just how much sugar content they could get by drinking their favorite Starbucks' coffee.
According to Fortune, a U.K-based campaign group "Action on Sugar" conducted a survey on 131 different beverages in a number of coffee shops around U.K. to determine its sugar content. Though the complete names have not yet been disclosed, reports claimed that Starbucks is the top violator.
"This is yet again another example of scandalous amount of sugar added to our food and drink," Action on Sugar chairman Graham MacGregor said in a statement.
Moreover, it was pointed out that 7 out of 34 Starbucks drinks that went through the group's evaluation took its places in the top 10 drinks containing an exceeding amount of sugar content. One popular drink named Venti Grape Mulled Fruit took the number 1 spot with a total of 25 teaspoons of sugar mixed on it which is equivalent to 99 grams.
As several big-named coffee shops continue to expand from time to time, consumers get a slimmer knowledge of awareness to the things concerning their health, which can be greatly attributed to unhealthy lifestyle.
Sugars are not bad as it could also add up to the nutrients that a human body needs; however, added sugars are less likely to contribute nutrients to food and will only make the body obtain a higher amount of calories, according to American Heart Association.
On the latter part of the campaign, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron came into view with a comprehensive plan to reduce high sugar content drinks down to 50% and 20%.
"Earlier this year we committed to reduce added sugar in our indulgent drinks by 25% by the end of 2020," a response issued by Starbucks. "We also offer a wide variety of lighter options, sugar-free syrups and sugar-free natural sweetener and we display all nutritional information in-store and online."
Aside from that, a 20% tax on drinks containing a high amount sugar was included along with the request to eliminate ads promoting such unhealthy food and drinks among adults and children.
