Kebabs - more than 'meats' the eye?

Pub customers are being misled over the contents of their closing time doner kebab, according to a new survey.

It's a fact of life that people who would walk straight past a takeaway in the cold light of day frequently find themselves in the kebab queue after a few pints.

However, a sampling campaign by local councils has found that the information provided by kebab sellers is just as dodgy as the contents.

LACORS, (Local Authority Coordinators of Regulatory Services) dispatched officers from 76 councils across the UK to sample 494 doner kebabs. The takeaways were tested to check the meat content, labelling and nutritional value.

The study found that 40 per cent of the sampled kebabs did not have an exact declaration for the meat species present, while 35 per cent of the labels listed different meat species than were actually contained in the kebab.

Six kebabs tested positive for pork when it had not been declared as an ingredient - and two of these claimed to be Halal, which bans pork products.

The study examined the nutritional value of a doner kebab in pitta bread, without salad or sauces, finding that the average kebab

• contains 98 per cent of the daily salt recommendation
• contains nearly 1,000 calories - half the woman's recommended daily food intake
• contains 148 per cent of the daily recommended levels of saturated fat

The worst kebabs tested weighed in at almost 2,000 calories before salad and sauces and contained nearly three times the adult daily recommended salt intake.

LACORS and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) plan to convene a summit meeeting between councils and kebab shop owners to develop guidance aimed at improving product labelling .

Cllr Geoffrey Theobald OBE, chairman of LACORS, said: "We would never consider kebabs part of a calorie controlled diet, but the level of saturated fat and salt in some is a serious cause for concern."

FSA chief scientist Andrew Wadge said: "Our advice is that people don't need to avoid doner kebabs altogether because of these findings. Like all types of food that is high in fat and salt they do not need to be cut out of your diet altogether.

"As part of a balanced diet, including plenty of fruit, vegetables and starchy foods, there is no reason why you can't indulge in a doner kebab from time to time. Obviously, the more regularly you eat them the harder it is to achieve that healthy balanced diet."