Many food manufacturers are misleading the public by labeling products as ‘wholemeal’ when only some of the flour used actually contains the entire grain, the Dutch consumers association Consumentenbond said on Tuesday.

‘Some manufacturers are using wholemeal as a sales trick for unhealthy products containing lots of sugar and saturated fats,’ director Sandra Molenaar said. ‘People think they are making a healthy choice but often the product only contains a small proportion of wholemeal flour. Exactly how much is also often unclear.’

Dutch food laws require wholemeal bread to be made 100% from wholemeal flour but other rules apply to crackers, biscuits and pasta. These rules state that if ordinary flour has also been used, the percentage should be clearly marked on the packaging.

LU mini wholewheat crackers, for example, are just 38% wholemeal flour, while Liga BelVita chocolate softbakes contain just 10% wholemeal flour, the Consumentenbond said.