Some pre-made supermarket salads contain more calories and fat than a McDonald’s Big Mac and fries, new research has revealed.
Consumer watchdog Which? studied a selection of 20 pre-packed salads from the major retailers and found that Morrisons’ Smedleys Atlantic Prawn Marie Rose Salad was the worst offender.
It contained 855 calories and 66.3g fat – more than a Big Mac and medium fries, which has 820 calories and 40g of fat, and equal to 70 per cent of a man’s recommended daily intake of fat and nearly all of a woman’s.
Another unhealthy option was Asda’s Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad with 43 grams of fat, almost as much as six Cadbury Creme eggs .
Which? said creamy sauces and dressings, which include large amounts of mayonnaise, were often the reason why many of the salads were so high in calories and fat .
Mayonnaise dressing was the second highest ingredient (27 per cent) in an M&S Pasta with Tomato and Basil Chicken salad (380g), which had 760 calories and 46g of fat – nearly half of a man’s daily intake of fat and 70 per cent of a woman’s.
Others salads were accused by the watchdog of having misleading labelling.
Which? claimed Sainsbury’s Tomato and Basil Chicken specified it contained no mayonnaise, but the ingredients list revealed it had egg yolk, oil and white wine vinegar – the same ingredients that mayonnaise consists of.
The packaging on Tesco’s Tuna Layered Salad stated that it had 275 calories and 20.5g of fat, but at closer inspection it was found that these figures only represented half the pack.
Commenting on the findings, Which? editor Martyn Hocking said: “If you thought your high-street salad was healthy, you could be in for a surprise.”
“Which? has found there were large differences between the amount of fat, saturated fat, salt and calories in pre-packaged salads . Check the label or you could end up with egg on your face.”
He added: “This latest research backs up what we’ve been saying for ages – a clear, consistent labelling scheme is important to help people spot how much fat, sugar and salt is in the food they’re buying.”
