Britain’s most calorific sausage rolls revealed… and Gregg’s ISN’T the worst offender

Britain’s most calorific sausage roll is even worse for your waistline than two pints of beer, analysis shows. 

But the worst offender is not sold at Greggs. 

Instead, Ginsters’ meat-filled buttery pastry, sold in shops for £1.25, has 480 calories.

This is almost as much as what is found inside a McDonald’s Big Mac (493) or roughly four slices of toast drenched in butter (520). 

Options sold at the likes of Sainsbury’s, M&S and Morrisons placed in the top 10. 

MailOnline audited dozens of the savoury treats sold in shops across the UK ahead of National Sausage Roll Day. 

We looked at options at chains such as Greggs, as well as ready-to-eat rolls available at the likes of Tesco and Asda.

Ginsters Large Sausage Roll’s calorie count equates to nearly a quarter of a woman’s (2,000) and a fifth of a man’s (2,500) daily recommended intake.

It also had 15.3g of saturated fat and 1.4g of salt.

Health chiefs advise women eat no more than 20g of saturated fat a day, while men are told to stick to under 30g. Too much can raise cholesterol and increase the risk of heart disease. 

What should a balanced diet look like? 

Meals should be based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally wholegrain, according to the NHS

• Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. All fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruit and vegetables count;
• Base meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally wholegrain;
• 30 grams of fibre a day: This is the same as eating all of the following: 5 portions of fruit and vegetables, 2 whole-wheat cereal biscuits, 2 thick slices of wholemeal bread and large baked potato with the skin on;
• Have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks) choosing lower fat and lower sugar options;
• Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including 2 portions of fish every week, one of which should be oily);
• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and consuming in small amounts;
• Drink 6-8 cups/glasses of water a day;
• Adults should have less than 6g of salt and 20g of saturated fat for women or 30g for men a day.

Source: NHS Eatwell Guide 

Salt should be capped at 6g per day because excess can cause high blood pressure, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. 

Sainsbury’s Jumbo Sausage Roll (£1.25) was the next-most calorific (442).

Pukka Pork Sausage Roll (£1.30, 424 calories), Too Good To Be Gluten Free Sausage Roll (£2.50, 410 calories) and Wall’s Jumbo Sausage Roll (£1.05, 408 calories) rounded out the top five.

However, smaller options can contain a fifth of the calories of jumbo options. Snack-sized servings available at Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Morrisons can have 100 calories or fewer. 

Professor Gunter Kuhnle, an expert in nutrition and food science at the University of Reading, told MailOnline it is ‘difficult to make a sausage roll into a health food’.

‘The pastry itself usually contains quite a bit of fat, especially home-made versions – but they are rather comfort food,’ he said. 

People should be aware that they can be ‘quite calorific with a high fat and saturated fat content’, Professor Kuhnle added.

Sausage rolls are therefore not good for Britain’s bulging waist line.

Latest NHS data shows 26 per cent of adults in England are obese and a further 38 per cent are overweight but not obese. One third of Americans are overweight, while four in 10 are obese. 

Obesity rates have been on the rise for decades, with experts blaming sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets. 

They are also soaring in children, with a quarter of children in reception in England now considered overweight, and one in ten obese.

A landmark study earlier this month the obesity epidemic is stripping billions of pounds from the cash-strapped NHS each year, with twice as much spent on obese patients, as on those of a healthy weight.

Costs per patient rise drastically the more people weigh, as they ‘collect obesity-related conditions’ such as type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease, according to research involving nearly 2.5million people. 

Sausage rolls, which can be traced back to 1800s France, hit headlines last month after Gregg’s won the right to operate its store in Leicester Square, London, until 2am on from Thursday to Saturday.

Last year, the chain had requested to sell its baked goods 24/7. But Westminster City Council, which oversees late-night licenses in the West End, rejected the bid. 

That decision came after the Met Police shared fears it would lead to a spike in ‘crime and disorder’.