Nutrition Take Out series – wrap style sandwiches and Indian takeaway foods

• Project start date: 1 July 2013
• Project status: Completed
• Project type: Nutrition
• Discipline: Food reviews
• Author/s: Dr Ruth Price, University of Ulster, Coleraine

Research objective

Wraps

• To conduct a survey among a representative sample of the adult population on the IOI on reported consumption and knowledge of wraps
• To carry out sampling and nutritional analysis of three popular wraps
• To compare the nutritional composition of three popular wraps.

Indian takeaways

• To identify the most popular Indian takeaway foods on the IOI
• To carry out sampling and nutritional analysis of the most popular Indian takeaway foods from a selection of Indian takeaway outlets and Indian restaurants with a takeaway service on the IOI
• To compare the nutritional composition of Indian takeaway foods to shop-bought versions to determine if any healthier Indian food options for adults or if children’s Indian food options are available

Outputs

Research report

• Title: What's in your Indian takeaway? / What's in your favourite wraps?
• Publication date: 1 September 2015
• Summary: The aim of this survey is to provide a snapshot of the nutritional composition of a sample of popular takeaway Indian meals.
• Findings:

  Wraps

  • Chicken wraps were the most popular types of wrap, namely the Chicken & Salad, Chicken Caesar Salad and Chicken Tikka & Salad wraps.
  • One-third of those surveyed considered wraps to be a healthier alternative to sandwiches at lunch time.
  • Portion sizes of the wraps analysed in this study varied and there was a two to two-and-a-halftimes difference between the minimum and maximum portion sizes.
  • By weight (100g), the Chicken Caesar Salad wrap provided the highest amount of calories, fat, protein and salt, followed by the Chicken Tikka & Salad wrap and the Chicken & Salad wrap. This can be attributed to the various fillings and sauces contained in the particular wrap types.
  • The chicken wraps analysed in this study were found to be very high in protein, providing between 67%–81 % of an adults GDA (daily allowance) for protein.
  • Takeaway wraps were found to be a major source of salt in the diet. The average of each wrap type provided more than the adult GDA for salt, and sometimes exceeded this by up to 50%.
  • Each wrap type was found to contain a substantial amount of total fat (26%–38% of the adult GDA for total fat) and saturated fat (18%–37% of the adult GDA for saturated fat).
  • Tortilla wraps have a similar caloric count to two regular slices of white bread.

  Indian takeaways

  • An average Indian takeaway meal, consisting of an average portion of poppadoms, onion bhajis, chicken tikka masala and pilau rice, provided 2,287 calories, amounting to 114% of an adult’s Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA) for energy, 188% of the GDA for total fat, 290% of the GDA for saturated fat and 150% of the GDA for salt.
  • The dishes sampled were a major source of salt.
  • Less than 10% of outlets were found to provide ‘healthier options’.
  • Starter portion sizes were generally large however substantial differences were found between the sizes analysed. For example, for onion bhajis, there was a fivefold difference in the size of portions provided.
  • Main-course portion sizes were found to provide enough for two people. The average portion of chicken tikka masala in this survey was 523g, 223g more than the average portion size detailed in the Food Portion Sizes database.
  • The three most popular main course dishes identified were high in calories, fat and salt; an average portion of chicken tikka masala and chicken korma had the highest energy and fat content over 100% of the adult GDA for total fat and saturated fat.
  • An average portion of boiled rice and pilau rice contained enough for two people.
  • An average portion of pilau rice contained 25% of the adult GDA for energy, as well as 13% and 14% of the adult GDA for total fat and saturated fat respectively. Boiled rice was a healthier option, containing approximately 100 calories less than pilau rice.
  • One average portion of peshwari naan bread provided 748 calories, and in some instances, it had as much as 168% of the GDA for saturated fat and over a third of the adult GDA for salt.
  • An average portion of poppadoms contained 113 calories, over 10% of the adult GDA for total fat, 6% of the adult GDA for saturated fat and 10% of the adult GDA for salt. As they are often given out free of charge, these are commonly consumed with Indian meals and contribute further to a person’s daily calorie intake.
  • Shop-bought Indian meal equivalents analysed were significantly smaller in portion size and contained lower levels of energy, total fat, saturated fat and salt in comparison to similar dishes purchased from Indian takeaway outlets.
• Recommendations:

  Wraps: key messages for consumers:

  • Ask for smaller portion sizes or perhaps share a wrap if it is large in size.
  • When choosing filling options, avoid ingredients such as breaded chicken and bacon as these are higher in calories, fat and salt. Choose lean meat, poultry, fish or a suitable vegetarian option as an alternative. Add more salad or vegetable fillings for extra fibre and choose lower-fat cheese options.
  • Avoid adding sauces to wraps as these add extra calories and can be high in fat and salt. Ask for the sauce on the side instead so you can add as little as you want.
  • Choose lower-sodium ingredients in wraps where possible, e.g. lower-sodium cheese, lean meat instead of deli/cured meats or make use of spicy ingredients to add flavour.
  • Where possible, consider making your own lunch and bringing it with you instead of eating out. Not only is this healthier, it may also help reduce your weekly spend.
  • If possible, always look at the nutrition label of pre-packaged wraps and check the calorie, fat and salt contents.
  • Choose wholegrain wraps where possible to increase fibre intake.
  • Swap unhealthy sides such as crisps for fruit or low-fat yoghurt.

  Wraps: key messages for catering industry:

  • Promote wholegrain wrap options.
  • Offer wraps with more salad or vegetables, fewer sauces and smaller portion sizes of certain fillings (such as high-fat foods).
  • Try offering child-size portions of wraps.
  • Promote healthy wrap options and increase awareness of the calorie, fat and salt contained within wraps. Highlight healthier options so that consumers can recognise these meals easily.
  • Offer lower-fat and lower-salt sauces, such as low-fat mayonnaise and tomato or yoghurt-based sauces.

  Indian takeaways: Key messages for consumers

  • Consider having Indian takeaway meals as an occasional food only.
  • One portion of Indian takeaway food should ideally be shared between two people.
  • Dishes labelled deep fried, battered or crispy should be avoided as these are higher in calories, fat and salt than foods that are not deep fried. Items with a high proportion of vegetables should be ordered where possible.
  • Consider shop-bought options instead of takeaways, as they are generally smaller in size, and have fewer calories, fat and salt.
  • Avoid nibbling on poppadoms and associated dips.
  • Choose boiled rice over pilau rice. Consider not eating both a portion of naan bread and rice unless they are being shared.
  • Minimise the intake of sauces as they are usually high in calories, fat and salt.

  You can downlooad the reports below.

Similar research

• Survey of artificial colours in selected ethnic foods in takeaways (2012)
• Nutrition Take Out series – pizza, burgers and Chinese takeaways (2010)
• Salt levels in ready-to-eat soup purchased in catering establishments (2010)
• An investigation into the usage of Monosodium Glutamate in the ethnic food catering industry (2010)