The Dangers of Salads

The Dangers of Salads

Those of you who think that you are being virtuous by having a salad in a fast food establishment, may have to think again.

Tests by Which? of items bought at McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken, have revealed that three salads were the saltiest options on the menus.

Each contained over 3g of salt per salad portion, this is over half the recommended maximum daily intake of 6g.

Which? also noted that the websites of Burger King and KFC were inaccurate, in respect of their food's nutrition content.

The report noted that there was in fact 19g of saturated fat in a Burger King Whopper and regular fries, which was 6g more than the 13g stated on the company website.

A KFC Zinger Crunch salad had 6.7g of saturated fat, almost treble the 2.4g stated by KFC. The company told Which? that discrepancies could be due to "over portioning" at some stores.

Which? editor Malcolm Coles said:

"Don't assume that a salad is always a healthy option - you could be getting a large helping of fat and salt on the side. Although fast food companies now offer more choice, it's hard to know what you're really getting."

Burger King said in a statement that the company website gave "typical" nutrition figures, intended as a guide for customers.

Fluctuations in ingredients used by staff could lead to some variations, it said.

The lesson here is, that if you are in fast food place, stick to the fries, burgers and chicken; at least you will feel full.