Industry | 2009.09.23
Low-fat pizzas rated tastiest
Pizzas with a comparatively low fat content were rated the tastiest by food reviewers who visited leading high street chains for a new report. Which? carried out blind nutrition tests on thin-crust margherita (cheese and tomato) pizzas from six leading UK chains and rated them all "red" for saturated fat and salt content. But overall fat levels at Pizza Express fell within the "amber" zone. Separately, Good Food Guide also visited the six chains, and rated margherita and pepperoni pizzas for taste, quality and value, alongside the quality of the restaurant experience – Pizza Express emerged favourite.
Pizza Express scored 30.5/45, and was praised for its "flavoursome pizzas with good-quality, well-balanced ingredients." The reviewers were impressed by the innovative pizza options involving unusual ingredients, even if they felt the pizzas were let down by "slightly soggy bases."The report notes that while pizzas appeal to our taste buds, they are also a recession-busting affordable meal out as internet two-for-one vouchers can bring the cost of dining out for two down to around £6.
In the separate nutrition tests, Pizza Hut pizzas were on average the smallest overall, but were the highest in total fat and contained 70% of a woman\'s recommended daily maximum of saturated fat. Prezzo pizzas had the highest level of saturated fat, while Zizzi pizzas had the highest level of salt. On average, a margherita pizza from all the chains contained more than 50% of an adult\'s recommended daily maximum of salt.
Martyn Hocking, editor of Which? said: "You\'d expect pizza to be high in fat – any meal with that much cheese would be. But the fact that Pizza Express was the reviewers\' favourite and its pizzas were the lowest in fat shows that pizzas don\'t have to overload on grease to taste great."
He said that some of the chains investigated were serving meals that are so high in fat and salt - and in some cases, so unappetising - that they were letting their diners down. He went on: "We\'d like to see them giving calorie information at the very least, at the point when people make their choice."
The reviewers gave Pizza Hut and Frankie & Benny\'s the lowest overall scores of 11/45 for pizza taste and quality and restaurant experience. Their verdict for Pizza Hut was "best avoided", with reviewers scoring their pizzas poorly on taste and quality of ingredients.
A spokeswoman for Pizza Hut said: "Over recent years we have made considerable progress in improving the nutritional content of our menu but we realise we still have work to do. That said, the report shows Pizza Hut is the lowest in salt, is one of the lowest calorie options, and is the best value by some distance."
Pizza Express\'s head chef Antonio Romani said the chain would continue to make its menu as healthy and as interesting as possible without compromising on taste. He commented: "We\'re delighted that our pizzas have been rated the tastiest and healthiest on the high street. Having a menu that meets our customers\' needs is important to us and something we\'re constantly working on. And because our pizzaiolo chefs hand make our pizzas fresh every time, customers can request more, less, or none of a certain ingredient if they so wish."
Heather Caswell, nutrition scientist with the British Nutrition Foundation, said: "It is good news that an independent analysis like this has been done. The findings dispel the myth that a low fat diet has to be bland. It would be helpful to consumers if restaurants displayed more information about their products\' nutritional content - some chains are clearly further ahead on this than others."
The Food Standards Agency has singled out pizza in its campaign to get consumers to eat less saturated fat because of the high cheese content. It advises people making their own pizza to grate the cheese, and to use a low-fat version where possible. Consumers are also urged to avoid toppings such as bacon and pepperoni because of high salt and fat content, along with barbecue sauces, which are often high in sugar.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2[...]3/pizza-express-taste-fat-test
