Kellogg's and Nestle have been accused by consumer advocates of targeting children with breakfast cereals containing too much sugar, salt and fat.
Servings of popular brands such as All Bran, Oat Krunchies and Golden Grahams contained four times as much salt as a 25g bag of roasted peanuts, the UK Consumers' Association said.
The association used assessments by the UK Food Standards Agency of what might constitute "a little" or "a lot" of sugar, fat and salt per 100g of food, and compared them with 100 branded cereal products.
Among the 100 products surveyed, 85 contained a lot of sugar, and nine had a lot of saturated fat.
Mr Michael Kilcoyne, vice-chairman of the Consumers' Association of Ireland, said Irish consumers should be made aware of the dangers of such high sugar, fat and salt products.
Threatening to put a "fat tax" on them is not the answer, he said. "Companies should be compelled to make safer products, and consumers should be informed of the dangers."
Kellogg's said research had proved that people who ate cereals tended to be slimmer than those who did not because they had lower fat and higher carbohydrate intakes from not snacking as much, not having a high-fat cooked breakfast and not eating as much in later meals.
Cereal Partners UK, which markets cereals under the Nestle brand in the UK, said: "We sell a wide range of cereals, all of which are clearly labelled as to their nutrient content. All can be enjoyed as part of a healthy diet."
Among the worst cereals in the survey were:
- Kellogg's Frosties Turbos - 1.5g salt, 1.5g fat and 40g sugar. r Nestle Cookie Crisp - 1.5g salt, 2.9g fat and 41.3g sugar.
- Nestle Golden Grahams - 2.5g salt, 3g fat and 32g sugar.
- Kellogg's Frosties Chocolate - 1.63g salt, 4.5g fat and 41g sugar.
- Kellogg's Hunny B's - 1.25g salt, 2.5g fat and 37g sugar.