Consumer Watchdog: You are what you eat

Photo / Doug Sherring

It's hard enough to stay healthy when you're sitting behind a desk all week but office workers craving waist-friendly sandwiches may have to look harder.

A Herald on Sunday survey found that even the healthiest-looking options could have high levels of salt and fat and half did not display any nutritional information.

We asked dietician MaryRose Spence and nutritionist Rene Schliebs to assess six chicken sandwiches from Auckland outlets.

Only three carried nutritional information, which is not required by law.

Spence said most were made with two chunks of toast-style bread - equivalent to four sandwich slices - and some containing fat-packed seeds.

"It's about the type of bread," said Spence. "The thickness, and the amount and quality of the protein. If you're not active, don't have lots of seeds."

Most sandwiches didn't contain enough salad but all had a good amount of lean protein. People who plumped for wraps thinking they were a low-carb option could be in for a shock - one wrap can be equivalent to four slices of bread.

Schliebs said the average person needed no more than 45g-60g of fat and 2300mg of salt a day. According to the labels, a Cajun chicken sandwich by Deli Kitchen contained almost 1000mg of salt. A packet of two chicken sandwiches from Wishbone contained 640mg of salt, which was "still too high" and 35g of fat.

Both experts said nutritional information was important and people should know what they were eating. They agreed sandwiches didn't contain enough salad and said we should have two handfuls of vegetables per meal.

"A token piece of lettuce is not going to cut the mustard," said Schliebs.

Consumer NZ deputy chief executive David Naulls said it wasn't practical for every sandwich-seller to provide nutritional information but large suppliers should try.

HOW THE COMPANIES RESPONDED

Neil Blayney of Naturezone NZ (which owns Prima Deli) said the high salt content in its Cajun chicken sandwich was due to the spice mix. There was probably half as much salt in its other chicken options. The company will look at providing nutritional information on labels.

Wishbone general manager Sam Lacoua said their chicken caesar offering was higher in fat because of the home-made mayonnaise. A strip on the packaging on many sandwiches indicates whether they're low-glycemic index, meat-free, dairy-free or all of those.

Foodini's owner Colleen Ambrose said her company's chicken on five-grain sandwich contained good fat. Customers could have it without mayonnaise.

Hollywood Bakery general manager Gabriel Yeung said its chicken was boiled, shredded and frozen before being put in sandwiches.

Pandoro baker Malcolm North said the company was not a healthfood company. "We're making sandwiches that people enjoy - whether they exercise enough is up to them."

Subway New Zealand director Brian Tap said the chicken strips sub was based on a regular six-inch sub on white or wheat bread without cheese.