THE SUGAR DETECTIVES

Caramelised for cookies, aerated for meringues, dissolved for lollies and fizzy drinks ... “treat” foods form the biggest part of our sugar intake and we eat and enjoy them in full knowledge of their high sugar content. However, sugar is also lurking in many other processed foods, even savoury products and food marketed as “healthy”.

Sugar has many diverse roles in food manufacturing, from adding sweetness to improving texture and preserving. So, of course, it’s used in almost everything.

THE SUSPECTS

“A lot of processed foods have added sugar,” says Dr Peter Brukner, professor of Sports Medicine at La Trobe University and convener of SugarByHalf, an independent, not-for-profit organisation that aims to halve Australia’s