4. Ready made meal
(TV dinner) • Independently associated
with abdominal obesity
• 10% total cholesterol ~
0.65% total fibreNutritional
Content
(Macronutrie
nt % energy)
Ready
Meals
(n=100)
Median
WHO
Range
% within
WHO range
Protein 22.7 10-15 9
Carbohydrate 42.9 55-75 18
Sugars 5.7 <10 83
Fat 32.4 15-30 37
Saturated fat 13.9 <10 34
Fibre density
(g/MJ)
3.2 >3.0 56
Sodium
density
(g/MJ)
0.4 <0.2 4
BMJ: Not even 1 in 100 ready meals in
supermarkets fully complied with
nutritional guidelines set by WHO
(Food Today, 2007)
(Simon, Jean, & Martin, 2012)
(Alkerwi, Crichton, & Hébert, 2015)
5. Trans fat – NOT LABELLED!!
(Ready Meals Roulette, 2007)
7. Salad?
CASH: 77% more salt than a packet of crisps
(0.5g/portion)
Pizza Express ‘Grand Chicken Caesar Salad’
5g salt/serving = 2.5 Big Macs
Marks & Spencer ‘Chicken, Bacon & Sweetcorn Pasta
Salad’
2.58g salt/380g (50% RI)
Healthier Option:
Caffe Nero ‘Chicken Salad with Caesar Dressing’ -- 0.5g/170g
(Healthy Salads Stuffed with Secret Salt Revealed in New Survey , 2014)
WHO: < 6 g/day
8. To cook or not to cook?
It is all about balancing act…
Easy rule: to get the item only and nothing else
FoodSwitch/SaltSwitch
Proposal:
Traffic light labelling
(Food Standards Agency)
(Terri's Kitchen)
(Celnik, Gillespie, & Lean, 2012)
9. References
Alkerwi, A., Crichton, G. E., & Hébert, J. R. (2015). Consumption of ready-made meals and increased risk of obesity: findings from the Observation
of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Luxembourg (ORISCAV-LUX) study. British Journal of Nutrition , 113 (2), 270-277.
Celnik, D., Gillespie, L., & Lean, M. (2012). Time-scarcity, ready-meals, ill-health and the obesity epidemic. Trends in Food Science & Technology ,
27 (1), 4-11.
Featherstone, E. (2014, May 18). Which? Conversation. Retrieved February 24, 2015, from How much sugar is in your ready meal?: http://
conversation.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/sugar-content-microwavable-ready-meals-supermarket/
Food Standards Agency. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2015, from http://www.food.gov.uk
Food Today. (2007, 3). Retrieved February 24, 2015, from European Food Information Council (EFIC): http://www.eufic.org/article/en/nutrition/
food-labelling-claims/artid/Making_sense_of_Guideline_Daily_Amounts/
Griffiths, S. (2014, June 2). Vegetables: is fresh best? The journal of the Institute of Food Science and Technology .
Gust, L. (2011). Defrosting Dinner: The Evolution of Frozen Meals in America. 4 (1).
Healthy Salads Stuffed with Secret Salt Revealed in New Survey . (2014, July 30). Retrieved February 24, 2015, from Consensus Action on Salt and
Health: http://www.actiononsalt.org.uk/news/surveys/2014/Salads/136784.html
Padden, K. (2012). Peeling Back the Foil: The Origin of the TV Dinner. Retrieved March 6, 2015, from Today I Found Out: http://
www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/08/peeling-back-the-foil-the-origin-of-the-tv-dinner/
Ready Meals Roulette. Consumers' Association . London: Which?
Simon, H., Jean, A., & Martin, W. (2012, October 31). Nutritional content of supermarket ready meals and recipes by television chefs in the United
Kingdom: cross sectional study. British Medical Journal , 345.
Terri's Kitchen. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2015, from https://terriskitchenuk.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/should-kids-cereal-be-in-the-candy-
aisle/
The Future of Frozen Food. (2013). Retrieved March 6, 2015, from Bord Bia, Irish Food Board: http://www.bordbia.ie/industry/manufacturers/
insight/publications/bbreports/Documents/Future%20of%20Frozen%20Report.pdf
