UK RESTAURANT CHAINS WHERE MEALS ARE MICROWAVED AND PACKED WITH UPFS
Popular UK restaurant chains are serving microwave meals and dishes packed with ultra-processed junk, a shock investigation found today.
Analysis of 20 family favourites found some are 'rarely' preparing food and cooking on site using fresh ingredients.
Instead, restaurants including Bella Italia, Prezzo and TGI Fridays, are allegedly simply warming up pre-made pasta sauces.
Looking specifically at children's menus, the Soil Association — who carried out the research — claimed chains were 'misleading or even ripping parents off'.
The food and farming charity said it discovered an 'abundance of unhealthy options, excessively sugary desserts, problematic additives, plus ultra-processed and low-welfare meat'.
Franco Manca ranked bottom of the league table for failing to serve enough vegetables to kids, while KFC was found to be importing meat from halfway across the world.
Wahaca and Carluccio's were the only chains, it claimed, to be making dishes from minimally processed ingredients.
Price was not a barrier to better children's menus, with high scoring JD Wetherspoon one of the cheapest chains surveyed for serving all of its children's meals with two portions of vegetables and a fruit option for pudding.
For the study, the Soil Association used secret diners and surveyed restaurant chains to compile a league table ranking of menus.
It also asked chains to provide information around the extent to which their three most popular meals were freshly prepared.
At least 40 per cent of 140 protein options — meat, fish and plant-based — across the high street were ultra-processed, according to the charity's analysis.
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) — which include bread, cereals and even salad dressing — are made with artificial ingredients used to preserve, add flavour and enhance texture.
They have gone through multiple levels of processing and are usually full of added fats, colours and sugars.
Franco Manca, for instance, offered just four main meal options and no sides or starters, the Soil Association said.
All were pizzas — organic tomato and mozzarella; roasted cured ham, organic tomato and mozzarella; wild mushrooms, organic tomato and mozzarella and cured chorizo, organic tomato and mozzarella.
The charity also claimed Franco Manca declined to share details of their sourcing and preparation practices with parents or the Soil Association.
'Other than calories, there is no indication on menu of what is better for you,' they added. 'It would be good to see five-a-day information included as a start.'
Only Wagamama, Nando's and Leon offered children's menus that were completely free from both artificially sweetened and added sugar drinks.
Most fruit and vegetables also came from abroad, with just one restaurant — Nando's — reporting using 100 per cent British meat for children's meals.
KFC and TGI Fridays served meat from as far away as Thailand and Brazil.
According to the charity, 'nearly half' of TGI Fridays children's menu includes fried food.
A 297 calorie crispy chicken burger, 276 calorie hamburger, 340 calorie quesadilla and 314 calorie hotdog are among the mains offered by the chain.
'It would be good to see some more healthy vegetarian and vegan options,' the Soil Association said.
A handful of 'pioneering' restaurants, however, have now pledged to report to the charity on ultra-processed ingredients in their kitchens for the first time including Wahaca and JD Wetherspoon.
The two restaurants topped the league table for providing freshly prepared and healthy options for children.
In recent years UPFs – which are usually high in salt, sugar and saturated fat – have been linked in studies to an increased risk of obesity, heart disease, cancer and early death.
The UK consumes more UPFs than any other European country, with the foods making up an estimated 57 per cent of the national diet.
They are thought to be a key driver of obesity, which costs the NHS around £6.5billion a year.
Soil Association senior policy officer Oona Buttafoco said: 'Parents want and deserve better.
'They've told us fresh food and healthy, delicious choices are their number one priority when eating out with their kids.
'Restaurant chains are facing significant cost pressures, and we sympathise with the challenges they face.
'But we're concerned that some chains may be misleading, or even ripping parents off by essentially serving ready meals.
'This often isn't what parents think they are paying for, and it's concerning when ultra-processed foods are dominating British children's diets.
'It's not all bad news though. A handful of chains are doing brilliantly, serving freshly-prepared, responsibly-sourced, healthy and tasty food, as well as providing transparency on ingredient sourcing — and all this at a reasonable price.'
Thomasina Miers, the co-founder of Wahaca, said: 'I am immensely proud that Wahaca has topped the Soil Association's children's food awards.
'It is great to see cooking from scratch, having free-range chicken and using Riverford organic produce has cut through the noise of chicken nuggets and chips, seen on so many 'kids' menus across the country.
'I love that at Wahaca children can build their own tacos and learn how things like citrus makes such a big impact on seasoning.
'We shall continue working on these menus as we continue working on our main menus because we wholeheartedly believe in bringing up a nation of children who love food and flavour.'
Sarah Shaw, food development manager at JD Wetherspoon, said: 'Wetherspoon is proud to have been ranked number two in the Out to Lunch league table, as well as being the leading pub chain.
'We strive to offer children's meals which are both tasty and nutritious, which is good news for the children as well as their parents.'
Meanwhile, a Frankie & Benny's spokesperson told MailOnline: 'We are proud to be ranked among the top five UK restaurants for providing fresh, high-quality children's meals.
'We take great pride in offering dishes that are made with fresh ingredients, ensuring that our younger guests enjoy healthy and delicious New York Italian food.
'We are committed to driving innovation in the kitchen, working hard to maintain the highest standards and provide the best dining experience for families that Frankie & Benny's is famous for.
'Fresh, tasty food is at the heart of everything we do, and we'll keep evolving and improving to meet the needs of our customers.'
A Bella Italia spokesperson also said: 'We’re proud to offer a wide range of delicious children’s meal options, including freshly prepared pasta and pizza, alongside fresh fruit and vegetables.
'Any sauces made by our excellent suppliers are done so to our own recipe.
'Our menu features both smaller and larger portion sizes to suit every child, and we also make dining out more affordable for families by offering free children’s meals all day every Thursday, and for just £1 between 4pm and 6pm every Sunday to Wednesday.'
MailOnline has contacted the other 16 restaurants named in the research for comment.
Read more 2024-11-28T08:46:42Z