Pork and beef sausages which contain 10% chicken are among the latest batch of products to be "named and shamed" by the Consumers' Association.

Yet again we have exposed how current laws leave food manufacturers free to abuse consumers

Sheila McKechnie, Consumers' Association

In the second phase of its "honest food labelling" campaign, the watchdog has identified 19 products with misleading labels.

The list of summer food products includes Sainsbury's Blue Parrot Cafe banana flavoured spring water, which contains 2% reconstituted banana but makes a '5 a day' banana claim, while a Marks & Spencer low calorie barbecue marinade contained more fat than a similar marinade in its range.

The Consumers' Association said that its shopping sweep showed that few food manufacturers had made little effort to improve labels for consumers.

Making an effort

Some manufacturers, whose products were identified in the first shopping exercise, had amended or were in the process of taking steps to change their labels.

Marks & Spencer said it would be discontinuing its "Count on Us" Barbecue Marinade as a result of the association's findings.

Michelle Wober, Marks & Spencer's health & well-being category developer, said: "We take the nutritional information we provide for our customers very seriously right across our food range."

In a statement, Sainsbury's defended the information on its Blue Parrot Cafe banana-flavoured drink.

It said: "The information on eating five portions of fruit and vegetables on Sainsbury's Blue Parrot Cafe banana-flavoured still spring water appears in the fun facts section on the back of the pack.

"It is not a nutritional claim about the product."

The Food and Drink Federation, a food manufacturers industry body, said that the food industry did not set out to mislead consumers, and it was working with the Food Standards Agency to improve food labelling.

Deputy Director General Martin Paterson said: "UK manufacturers are honest, and seek to build trust with consumers, both in the labelling and the quality of the product."

Change proposed

There is currently no legal obligation for manufacturers to provide full nutritional information or for health claims to be substantiated before they are used on foods.

This situation could change in the future, as the European Commission is currently working on proposals to improve labelling.

Sheila McKechnie, director, Consumers' Association, said: "Yet again we have exposed how current laws leave food manufacturers free to abuse consumers by printing enticing labels that are not always clear, may be confusing and sometimes distort the truth."