This is something that really bugs me. 
united biscuits manufacture a bar under the brand go ahead!™ boasting that its only 74 calories per slice. The brand name, their marketing campaign and everything about this biscuit, is geared towards this being a healthy option.
“The go ahead! brand offers consumers delicious snacks they can feel good about eating”
However in reality the information being provided isn’t very helpful, and doesn’t allow the consumer to make healthy eating choices at all. Firstly there are two slices per pack, so its really 148 calories. Secondly the bars are tiny only 36g each so you don’t get much. Especially when you consider that for 74 calories you can have 231g of strawberries, or 129g of fat free yoghurt, or 19g of sugar. What the bars should advertise is the calorie density, or calories per 100 gram. In which case its a 417 calorie per 100g bar. Admittedly on the back of the packet such information is provided, but united biscuits as well as many other companies use a loophole in the way they can provide nutrition information to the consumer to make it look like a healthy option when actually it isn’t. Especially when you consider that a Mars bar is 467 calories per 100g. But I don’t have a problem with Mars, they brand their products as confectionery sweets and as such everyone knows they are a treat not to be eaten too often. *
So here is my healthy alternative to go ahead!™ if you just take half the sugar and half the yoghurt you have the equivalent of one slice, and if you take all the strawberries, you have the equivalent of the two slices. So pictured right we have two measly go ahead!™ yoghurt breaks strawberry slices and next to them we have one bowl of strawberries, a huge dollop of yoghurt, and more than two teaspoons of sugar. In addition the go ahead!™ bar has all sorts of other crap in it including:
- Strawberry paste 1.5%
- Glycerine
- Dextrose Monohydrate
- Sodium Citrate
- Calcium Citrate
- Soya Lecithin
- Sodium Bicarbonate
- Disodium Diphosphate
I am not really sure what any of those things are but my healthy option contains:
- Fresh strawberries 50%
- Pasteurised Skimmed Cow’s Milk
- Sugar
There is no mention of whether the go ahead!™ bar contains any Vitamin C, but being that my option has fresh strawberries in it its packed full of Vitamin C, as strawberries have the most amount of Vitamin C than any other fruit. The yoghurt means it is also packed full of protein and live active yoghurt cultures (L. Bulgaricus, S. Thermophilus, L. Acidophilus, Bifidus, L. Casei). I know which I would rather eat, so I did. It was delicious. The go ahead!™ bar went in the bin.
*Previously Mars had an questionable advertising campaign slogan “A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play”, but the current slogan is simply “Work rest play your part for England” which I think is a responsible way of promoting sport and exercise using the brand
Giles Bathgate 