Cafes urged and coffee shops across Northern Ireland should consider applying calorie labeling to scones, according to the Food Standards Agency.

According British Baker, this is just one of the recommendations made in a report—Nutritional Content of Scones—by the FSA in partnership with local councils.

Researchers said scones were selected as the target of the study for a number of reasons including them being a popular mid-morning snack in Northern Ireland, and because bakeries have been found to be one of the top 10 sources of sugar for 11 to 18-year-olds in the country.

The study looked at levels of energy, sugar, fat, fibre, salt and portion size of locally-produced scones on the country, although multinational chains such as Starbucks, Costa and Greggs were excluded from the study.

The research found the range of calories per scone varied from 154 calories to 756 calories, while the average scone contained 20g of sugar and 5g of salt.

The results of cafes urged the survey will inform targeted intervention to increase the availability of healthier products in local bakeries and coffee shops.

The research also unveiled that 91 per cent of the scones tested were made form scratch, five per cent made with a commercial mix and four per cent brought in ready-baked. Of the businesses making their scones from scratch, 18 per cent reported they did not measure ingredients.