Doubts About 'Healthy' McDonald's Kids' Drink

McDonalds is to launch a 'healthy' fizzy drink aimed at children which contains up to 50g of sugar per glass.

The fast-food chain says the new drink, called 'Fruitizz', will count as one of a child's five fruit or vegetables a day.

But diet experts have raised concerns about its nutritional content.

A 500ml serving of the drink contains 200 calories and 49g of sugar - over 57% of a child's recommended daily amount.

McDonald's said the drink has no added sugars, artificial colours or flavours.

Fruitizz's sweetness comes from natural sugars naturally present in fruit, it said, which is why it would count as one of a child's five a day.

But Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum told Sky News the quantity of sugar in the product - even if it is naturally occurring - is "unacceptable".

"This drink has far too many calories and is too high in its sugar content, particularly given that it is aimed at children," he said.

"It is unacceptable. This level of sugar is injurious to children's teeth.

"It wears away the enamel of children leading to tooth extractions, which is horrendous."

McDonald's should consider using artificial sweeteners, he added, which can help avoid this.

But spokesperson for the company said it had deliberately avoided using these.

"It is very difficult to reduce the calorie content of fruit juice drinks without introducing artificial sweeteners, and we specifically wanted to create a drink for families that is sweetened naturally and contains no artificial colours or flavourings," they said.

Sylvia Turner, a spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association , stressed only one serving of the drink would count as a fruit or vegetable portion.

"Having healthier drink options available is always good news," she said.

"However, only one 150ml glass of unsweetened fruit juice can count towards one of your five a day and while fruit juice is high in nutrients such as Vitamin C it also contains a lot of sugar."

McDonald UK's chief executive Jill McDonald said the new product follows lengthy testing.

"For the past three years, we have been working hard behind the scenes to create a fizzy drink that is unlike anything else currently available in high street restaurants," she said.

"We tried and tested 80 formulations in order to create the right product that delivers nutritional benefit as well as a new, exciting taste."

The Children's Food Campaign described the introduction of a healthier drink option as "encouraging".

"The best news for children's health will be if fruit-based drinks start to displace sugary drinks such as Coca-Cola from children's menus in McDonald's," spokesman Malcolm Clark said.

Fruitizz is the latest attempt by the world's largest hamburger chain to create a healthier image, which has seen products like fresh fruit, porridge and salads added to the menu.

The average Happy Meal sold in the UK last year contained 50% less salt, over 20% less saturated fat and more than 30% less sugar than in 2000.