Families looking for a sugar-free half-term snack
A free-from claim addresses a different requirement. If sugar-free status is essential, check the exact claim and sugars per 100 g rather than relying on the biscuit's name or format.
Who needs to check the label?
Families avoiding gluten or milk
A free-from custard cream may address those exclusions, but its sugar content needs a separate check. Tesco and Sainsbury's both list sugars per biscuit for their Free From products.
People arranging school-provided snacks
Check the nation, school setting and applicable food requirements before choosing a snack. The Department for Education's school-food guidance covers state-funded schools in England; it is distinct from England's retailer-promotion guidance on certain foods high in fat, salt or sugar.
What matters when choosing?
Decide whether the non-negotiable requirement is a sugar-free claim, a dietary exclusion or simply a custard-cream biscuit, then compare labels on the same basis.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar-free claim | Look for an explicit claim and read sugars per 100 g. The sugar-free claim condition in the annex to Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, published on legislation.gov.uk, is no more than 0.5 g sugars per 100 g for food. | If sugar-free is essential, I need the pack's claim and per-100-g figure, not just a small per-biscuit serving value. |
| Dietary exclusions | Check the relevant gluten-free, milk-free or vegan declaration separately from sugars. Tesco lists 2.8 g sugars per biscuit for its Free From custard creams; Sainsbury's lists 3.5 g for its Free From version. | Our household may need to avoid gluten or milk, but that does not answer a separate sugar-free requirement. |
| Snack portion | Compare the stated serving with the number of biscuits being packed. Sainsbury's lists 3.3 g sugars per biscuit for its standard custard creams, while Asda lists 3.4 g per biscuit for its standard version. | For a conventional custard-cream treat, I want to know what the label's per-biscuit figure represents before packing several. |
| Whole label | Read the ingredients and nutrition information as well as the sugar claim. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities notes that non-sugar sweeteners can provide sweet taste for fewer or no calories than sugar; that fact alone does not describe a biscuit's full nutritional profile. | A sugar-free claim matters to me, but I also want to check the other ingredients and nutrition values. |
Common buying mistakes
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Treating “free from” as “sugar-free”
Free-from declarations can address dietary exclusions without addressing sugar. Sainsbury's lists 3.5 g sugars per biscuit for its Free From custard creams, and Tesco lists 2.8 g for its version.
Match the claim to your requirement: check the relevant dietary declaration for an exclusion, and check the sugar-free claim and sugars per 100 g for a strict sugar-free choice.
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Assuming a familiar custard cream has less sugar
Standard custard creams still need a label check. Sainsbury's lists 3.3 g sugars per biscuit and Asda lists 3.4 g per biscuit; M&S lists 40.2 g per 100 g for Extra Cream Custard Creams.
Compare the current pack's per-biscuit and per-100-g figures, keeping the different measurement bases distinct.
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Using retailer-promotion guidance to decide on a school snack
The Department of Health and Social Care's HFSS guidance concerns promotion and placement of certain foods by retailers in England. The Department for Education's school-food guidance addresses food provided in state-funded schools in England.
For a school-provided snack, establish the nation and school setting, then check the food requirements and local policy that apply there.
Custard-cream brand references
These product-label examples show why a familiar brand or a free-from range cannot replace a check of the particular pack.
Tesco
Tesco lists a Free From Custard Creams 125G variant alongside conventional custard creams.
- Tesco describes the Free From variant as gluten-free, milk-free and suitable for vegans.
- Tesco lists 2.8 g sugars per biscuit for that variant, so its free-from declarations should not be read as a sugar-free claim.
Sainsbury's
Sainsbury's lists standard Custard Creams 200g and Free From Custard Creams 125g.
- The Free From listing describes milk- and gluten-free vanilla-flavour biscuits.
- Sainsbury's lists 3.5 g sugars per biscuit for Free From and 3.3 g per biscuit for its standard custard creams.
Asda
Asda lists Custard Creams 400g as a conventional biscuit option.
- Asda lists 3.4 g sugars and 1.5 g saturates per biscuit; check these values rather than assuming the product meets a sugar-free requirement.
M&S
M&S lists Extra Cream Custard Creams as a conventional custard-cream option.
- M&S lists 40.2 g sugars and 13.5 g saturates per 100 g. Its product page advises checking the pack for current information.
Crawford's
Crawford's Custard Creams Sandwich Biscuits 300g are listed as a conventional sandwich biscuit by Iceland Foods.
- The Iceland Foods ingredient listing includes sugar and glucose syrup, so the product name is not a basis for choosing it as sugar-free.
McVitie's
B&M describes McVitie's Tasties Custard Creams 300g as biscuits with a custard-flavour filling.
- Check the particular pack for any dietary claim and its nutrition values; the custard-cream name does not establish sugar-free status.
Joybuy biscuit alternatives
These are biscuits to consider when a sugar-free snack matters more than finding a custard cream: one is a sandwich cookie and the other a digestive. Check the current pack's claim and sugars per 100 g before choosing.
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Oreo Zero Sugar Sandwich Cookies, 97g
This sandwich-cookie format may suit a half-term snack when a custard cream is not essential. The product name says Zero Sugar; check the current pack's sugars per 100 g and ingredients against your requirements. It is not a custard cream.
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Gullon Zero Sugar Free Original Digestives, 400g
This is a digestive biscuit for a snack choice that does not require a custard-cream format. Its name says Zero Sugar Free; check the current pack's sugars per 100 g and ingredients before deciding. It is not a custard cream.
Questions about sugar-free custard creams
Does “free from” mean the same thing as “sugar-free”?
No. Gluten-free and milk-free declarations address different requirements from a sugar-free claim. The claim condition in the annex to Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, published on legislation.gov.uk, is no more than 0.5 g sugars per 100 g for food; check the exact claim and current nutrition panel.
Can I choose Tesco or Sainsbury's Free From custard creams for a strict sugar-free requirement?
Do not choose either on the strength of its Free From name. Tesco lists 2.8 g sugars per biscuit and Sainsbury's lists 3.5 g per biscuit for their respective Free From custard creams; check a product's explicit sugar-free claim and sugars per 100 g instead.
Does a sugar-free claim tell me everything about a biscuit?
No. Check the ingredients and full nutrition information for the particular biscuit as well as its sugar claim. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities notes that non-sugar sweeteners can provide sweet taste for fewer or no calories than sugar, but that does not describe every other attribute of a product.