Sugar added to nearly half of canned vegetables prompts angry responses

Nearly half of canned and bottled vegetables in the Netherlands contain added sugar, Foodwatch announced after investigating an assortment of products from Albert Heijn, Jumbo, Lidl and Aldi. The food watchdog calls on the government to take action, RTL Nieuws reports.

A massive 70 of the 170 tested canned and bottled vegetables contained added sugar. That is 46 percent of the examined products. "Even in organic vegetables added sugars were found", Foodwatch says.

Added sugars were found in canned and bottled beets, peas, chickpeas, maize, red cabbage, sprouts, beans and carrots, among others. Most sugar was added to red cabbage - up to 10 grams per 100 grams. Beets and corn also contained a lot of added sugar. There was little difference between the different brands.

There were also a few products in which no extra sugars were found. These include kale, mushrooms, green beans and spinach.