Who is this choice for?

Shoppers comparing sugar per cake

If one Jaffa Cake is your planned serving with tea, the per-cake sugars figure tells you about that portion. Check the cake’s weight and sugars per 100g as well before comparing products of different sizes.

Shoppers looking for a reduced-sugars claim

If a reduced-sugars formulation is important to you, look for an explicit claim on the exact product and a comparison with a similar product. A lower figure per piece can simply reflect a smaller piece.

Gluten- and wheat-free shoppers

Schär’s Jaffa Cakes are labelled gluten-free and wheat-free on the Sainsbury’s listing. Check the pack against your other requirements too: the listing says they may contain hazelnuts and milk.

What should you compare?

Start with the amount you expect to eat, then use the per-100g figure to compare products on the same weight basis. Check claims and allergens on the particular variant you intend to buy.

Priority What to check Your needs
Sugars in one piece Read sugars per cake or biscuit and the stated piece weight. Compare sugars per 100g before attributing a difference to the recipe. I want to know the sugars in the portion I plan to have with tea, without mistaking a smaller cake for a less sugary formulation.
Reduced-sugars wording Look for an explicit claim on the exact pack and its comparison with a similar product. Do not use a per-piece figure alone as evidence of that claim. A reduced-sugars formulation matters more to me than simply choosing a smaller piece.
Traffic-light label Read the colour alongside the gram value and serving size. The Food Standards Agency explains that red denotes a high amount of the nutrient shown. I use traffic-light colours to compare food labels, but still want the exact sugars figure. In 611 interviews conducted in Northern Ireland from September to November 2024, 49% of respondents told the Food Standards Agency and Ipsos Northern Ireland that they actively used traffic-light labelling when shopping for food; that figure does not measure Jaffa Cake preferences.
Allergens Check the ingredient and may-contain statements on the current pack. If you need gluten- or wheat-free cakes, check that the chosen product explicitly says so. Someone sharing afternoon tea may need a free-from option, and I cannot assume that similar-looking cakes have the same allergen information.
Pack format Check the number of cakes in each pack and the nutrition serving stated on its label. A multipack portion may contain more than one cake. I want a pack format that makes it straightforward to serve the number of cakes I have planned.

Common buying mistakes

  • Calling a smaller cake reduced sugar

    Tesco lists 5.4g sugars per McVitie’s Yuzu Lemon cake and 50g per 100g. Asda lists 6.1g per McVitie’s Original cake and 50.2g per 100g. The per-piece difference does not, by itself, show a reduced-sugars formulation.

    Compare the piece weights and per-100g figures, then check the exact product for an explicit reduced-sugars claim if that is what you need.

  • Reading the traffic light without the serving size

    Asda and Sainsbury’s show a high-sugars traffic-light indication for their listed orange Jaffa Cakes. The colour does not tell you how many cakes you intend to serve.

    Read the sugars figure per cake and decide how many cakes the serving will contain before using the label to compare packs.

  • Assuming every Jaffa-style cake has the same allergens

    The checked standard products list allergens including wheat, egg or soya. Sainsbury’s lists Schär’s alternative as gluten-free and wheat-free, but says it may contain hazelnuts and milk.

    Check both ingredients and may-contain statements on the current pack, particularly when buying for someone else.

Relevant brand references

These product examples help distinguish per-piece sugar, per-100g sugar and free-from labelling; a brand name alone does not establish the figures for every variant.

McVitie’s

The Original and Yuzu Lemon listings provide a direct example of why cake size matters when comparing flavours.

  • Asda lists 6.1g sugars per 12.2g Original cake and 50.2g per 100g.
  • Tesco lists 5.4g per Yuzu Lemon cake and 50g per 100g. Its lower per-cake figure is not, on its own, a reduced-sugars claim.

Sainsbury’s

Its orange own-label Jaffa Cakes offer another standard product for comparing label figures.

  • Sainsbury’s lists 6.2g sugars per cake and 49.6g per 100g for the 150g pack.
  • The listing shows a high-sugars traffic-light indication per cake and warns that the product is unsuitable for people with certain allergies because of manufacturing methods; check the current pack for the full statement.

Asda

Its 150g orange own-label pack is a further standard Jaffa Cake comparison.

  • Asda lists 6.3g sugars per cake and 50g per 100g.
  • The listing shows a high-sugars traffic-light indication and declares wheat, soya and egg, with several additional may-contain allergens.

Schär

A Jaffa-style option for shoppers who specifically need gluten- and wheat-free labelling.

  • Sainsbury’s lists the product as gluten-free and wheat-free, with 5.5g sugars per 12.5g biscuit and 44g per 100g.
  • The listing says it may contain hazelnuts and milk; its free-from wording should not be taken to cover those allergens.

Bahlsen

Messino is a Jaffa-style alternative with an orange fruit filling and dark chocolate coating.

  • Waitrose lists 53% orange fruit filling and 19% dark chocolate for Messino.
  • Waitrose lists 49g sugars per 100g and says the product may contain hazelnuts; its filling percentage is not a reduced-sugars claim.

Joybuy Jaffa Cake options

These McVitie’s packs offer two quantities for serving Jaffa Cakes at afternoon tea. Check the nutrition label of the particular pack before comparing its sugar content with the retailer examples above.

McVitie’s The Original Jaffa Cakes Snack Pack, six packs of three

McVitie’s The Original Jaffa Cakes Snack Pack, 6 × 3, 198g

Six three-cake packs let you take a separate pack to afternoon tea. Check sugars per cake and per 100g on this snack-pack variant rather than applying figures from a different Original pack.

View on Joybuy
McVitie’s 80 Jaffa Cakes, 1.07kg

McVitie’s 80 Jaffa Cakes, 1.07kg

The 80-cake pack is an option when serving a group. If sugar per serving drives the choice, check this pack’s per-cake and per-100g figures and decide how many cakes each serving will contain.

View on Joybuy

Questions about choosing Jaffa Cakes

Does a smaller Jaffa Cake count as reduced sugar?

No: a smaller per-cake sugars figure alone does not establish a reduced-sugars formulation. Compare sugars per 100g and look for an explicit claim on the exact pack, supported by a comparison with a similar product, if that distinction matters to you.

How do the listed per-piece sugar figures compare?

Tesco lists 5.4g sugars per McVitie’s Yuzu Lemon cake, Sainsbury’s lists 5.5g per Schär biscuit, and Asda lists 6.1g per McVitie’s Original cake. These are figures for specific products and differently sized pieces; compare their per-100g values as well before judging the formulations.

What does a red sugars traffic light tell me?

The Food Standards Agency says red indicates a high amount of the nutrient shown. Read the accompanying gram value and serving size to see how the label relates to the number of cakes you plan to serve.

Can I choose a standard Jaffa Cake for someone who needs gluten-free food?

Do not substitute one of the checked standard wheat-containing products for a gluten-free product. Sainsbury’s labels Schär Jaffa Cakes gluten-free and wheat-free, but also says they may contain hazelnuts and milk, so check the current pack against all relevant requirements.

Should I check the label again when buying the same pack?

Yes. Read the current pack’s nutrition, ingredients and allergen statements, especially when a particular sugars figure or allergen requirement determines your choice.