20th June 2009 From Sky News
A survey by the consumers watchdog Which? has found that Morrisons' Smedleys Atlantic Prawn Marie Rose Salad contained 855 calories and 66.3g fat - more than a McDonald's Big Mac and medium fries and 70% of the fat a man should eat in a day. Which? bought a selection of 20 pre-packed salads on the high street and found another unhealthy option was Asda's Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad, which contained 43g of fat, nearly as much as six Cadbury's Creme eggs. Almost a quarter of the salad is made up of high-calorie dressing (13% mayonnaise, 10% Caesar dressing). 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. "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." The survey found mayonnaise or creamy sauces were often the reason why many of the salads were so high in calories and fat. Mayonnaise dressing was the second highest ingredient (27%) in a Mark and Spencer Pasta with Tomato and Basil Chicken salad, £3.20 (380g), which had 760 calories and 46g fat. However there was praise for Sainsbury's and its Rainbow Salad for containing soya beans and lentils, a good source of protein, and also its Thai Chicken Noodle for being low in salt and fats. Which? wants food companies to adopt one label so shoppers can see at a glance levels of fat, sugar and salt. It said research by the Food Standards Agency shows a combined label including traffic light colours, guideline daily amounts, grams of nutrients per portion and the words 'high', 'medium' and 'low' worked best for consumers