Many pre-packaged drinks contain more sugar than their labels suggest, a Consumer Council and Centre for Food Safety joint test has found, making them fail to meet new regulations on nutrition labelling due to come into effect in July.

Eighty pre-packaged beverages were tested, with 16 bearing claims or wording about their sugar content or sweetness.

One instant-coffee mix claiming to be sugar-free was found to contain 5.3g of sugar per 100g of powder, or 0.74g of sugar per 100ml of drink after reconstitution. Another sample claiming to have no added sugar was found to contain 0.68g of sugar per 100ml of drink. However, "sugar free" food must contain no more than 0.5g of sugar per 100g or 100ml under the new law.

Ten samples claiming to be low in sugar contained 0.3g to 49g of sugar per 100g of product. Half fail to comply with the legal requirement of not more than 5g of sugars per 100g solid food or per 100ml liquid food.

Of the five samples bearing less-sweet or slightly-sweetened wording, two were found to contain 9.1g and 9.8g of sugar per 100g of beverage, higher than the "low sugar" claim legal requirement.

The joint test also showed many pre-packaged drinks catering to all tastes and preferences contained high levels of sugar. Topping the list was a lactic acid beverage with 16g of sugar per 100g. Two other similar beverages were also found to have high sugar content at 13g and 15g per 100g.

Two orange soft drinks, one orange juice drink, one blackcurrant juice drink, and one lemon tea contained high sugar content at 13g per 100g.

The council urged manufacturers not to have misleading labelling and warned consumers to be wary of such wording.