Tesco to ban lunch-sized sugary Ribena and Capri-Sun

David Kearns

Sugary drinks intended for a child's lunch are to be withdrawn from sale at Tesco amid concern over childhood obesity.

From September, Tesco Ireland will stop selling 300ml pouches and 150ml cartons of high-sugar Ribena, Capri-Sun and Rubicon drinks.

According to health campaigners, one 330ml pouch of Capri-Sun orange juice drink contains 33g of sugar, nearly double the daily amount recommended for four- to six-year-olds, and far above the 24g limit for seven to ten-year-olds.

Tesco Ireland will continue to sell the “no added sugar” versions of the drinks, as well as the larger bottles of the high-sugar drinks aimed at adults.

A spokesperson for the company said: "Tesco is committed to helping our customers to lead healthier lives by providing them a range of products that allows them to make healthy choices. "We have an ongoing sugar and salt reduction programme in place that aims to reduce the added sugar and salt in our own label foods, particularly in our kid’s category drinks."We can confirm that we will continue to sell no-added sugar versions of branded kid’s category drinks including Ribena and Capri Sun in place of the full sugar versions."Tesco in the UK will also stop selling 'lunchtime' sugary drinks, though the move has already sparked a backlash from some customers that have accused the supermarket chain of hypocrisy.