Vegetable-based sweets backed by television presenter Nicolette van Dam have been named most misleading product of the year by campaign group Foodwatch.

Foodwatch, a food standards lobby group, gave its ‘Gouden Windei’ award to the ‘Yummy Veggie Candy’, saying the product contains as much sugar as ordinary sweets and the makers, Let’s, are using vegetables’ healthy image as a marketing trick.

‘Vegetable sweets sound too good to be true, and that is indeed the case,’ Foodwatch director Nicole van Gemert said. ‘It is fine to add vegetable concentrate to sweets, but the product has nothing to do with eating fruit or vegetables, and could even be counter productive.’

Van Dam said on Instagram that she supports the concept of the prize and that the company will use the ‘feedback in communications’.

Let’s itself denied using vegetables as a marketing trick. ‘Foodwatch has taken the statement ‘getting vegetables on their plate’ out of the intended context,’ the company said.

‘We believe that by showing that you can make delicious products with vegetables and fruit, children will develop a positive association and interest towards fruit and vegetables.’