Parents Horrified by Unhealthy Halloween Treats

Lurid orange lollies, ghoulish black cakes and sinister grey candy floss… the huge array of Halloween-inspired sugary treats loaded with artificial colourings and flavourings is a nightmare for parents according to an Organix survey – 81% feel huge pressure to buy their children these unhealthy sweets and think the food industry is taking advantage of the annual event to cash in by selling unhealthy food, sweets and snacks (97%).

An Organix No Junk Survey of Mums across the UK reveals that 97% of mums think most of the food sold at Halloween contains high levels of artificial colourings and flavourings and that it is full of sugar (98%). In fact, half of mums are so anxious about what’s in the sickly treats they don’t even dare to read the terrifying list of E-numbers on the food labels (46%).

While years ago you might have hoped for a few penny sweets when trick and treating, these days many stores sell large ‘swag buckets’ for youngsters to carry their huge haul of nasty treats around. No wonder 92% of mums say Halloween is a time when children eat too much junk and 72% wish there was a healthy alternative at Halloween to sweets and ‘treats’.

In a bid to help parents and children join in with the fun of Halloween, but ditch the junk, Organix has come up with some truly awful treats that are actually good for you – from Frankenstein Toast to Ghostly Pizza, Bat Biscuits, Spooky Skeleton Platter, Pumpkin Pie Biscuits, Spooky Pumpkin Risotto and Sweet Halloween Pumpkin Muffins. Happy Halloween folks! (Please ask for recipes and photos)

For Halloween you’ll find lots more no junk spooky recipes created by the cooks at Organix at www.organix.com For lots more recipes and tips to help you and your family enjoy good food and avoid the junk follow #NoJunkJourney.

Stats at a glance
Pressure to buy sweets at Halloween
o Parents feel pressurised to buy children sweets at Halloween – 81%

Halloween is an excuse for the food industry to market unhealthy sweets and snacks
o The food industry uses Halloween as an excuse to sell unhealthy food, sweets and snacks – 97%
o Most of the food sold at Halloween contains high levels of artificial colourings and flavourings – 97%
o Most of the food sold at Halloween is full of sugar – 98%

Children eat too much Junk at Halloween
o Halloween is often a time when children eat too much junk – 92%
o Mums see children become more hyper when eating sweets – 76%

Mums do not feel good about Halloween
o I feel guilty about giving children trick or treating unhealthy sweets and snacks – 42%
o I can’t face reading the label on sweets and snacks for Halloween – 46%
o I avoid Halloween trick or treating altogether – 36% agree – 65% disagree

Junk Free Halloween Alternatives for a Healthy Halloween
o I wish there was a healthy alternative at Halloween to sweets and ‘treats’ – 72%

So what’s my  opinion on this?

Has anyone thought about Christmas and Easter? What about the amount of chocolate that is being consumed at Easter with the massive Easter eggs. Chocolate is not exactly healthy either and would contain a high amount of sugar as the sweets would do.

In my opinion, children should have fun and enjoy their lives. Halloween only happens once a year. My two kids never get any sweets, in fact they don’t even like sweets. The only thing my four year old eats, is jelly beans. That’s about it and he only gets those as a treat when he did something good. Plus it’s always only a handful. If you can keep the sweets under control in your house and you make sure your kids brush their teeth twice daily, I don’t see why sweets should be banned completely, especially at Halloween. Halloween is known for trick or treating for hundreds of years.

What do you think of the outcome of this survey?