Why your sausage roll may only contain 42% meat – and the retailers who WON’T say how much is in theirs

SAUSAGE rolls made with flaky pastry are almost as synonymous with British picnics as thunderstorms and rain.

And with bakery chain Greggs selling more than 2.5 million of the rolls per week, they are big business for retailers too.

But how much meat is actually in your sausage roll? The truth may gross you out.

Confusingly, the label information on the back of a sausage roll is only gives the percentage of meat in the overall product - not the meat in the sausage.

And with recipes and pastry quantities varying between products it's impossible for shoppers to work out how much meat they actually contain.

Retailers must follow government rules set by  Department for Environment, Food & Rural affairs.

They state that a sausage must contain at least 42 per cent meat (and that a sausage roll as a whole - including the pastry - must contain 6 per cent.)

But a number a retailers were unable - or unwilling - to share the percentage of meat in their sausage roll when The Sun Online requested the information.

In fact, in our survey of 10 retailers, just four agreed to share the percentage of the pork in the actual sausage - a measure not necessary on the packaging.

Greggs’s flagship roll contains only 22 per cent of meat according to the packaging and the bakery chain declined to comment about how much of its sausage bake is actually pork.

It was closely followed by Britain’s biggest supermarket Tesco which scored just slightly higher with its “2 Snack Sausage rolls” containing just 27 per cent of meat - but it would not disclose the product's pork content.

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Morrisons also declined to comment, while Iceland - for one out of two of its rolls included in the survey - told the Sun Online they couldn't get hold of the information.

Sainsbury's said that they do not share details of their recipes but "given that pork accounts for almost a third of our sausage rolls it’s fair to say the meat has a high pork content".

Unsurprisingly, upmarket retailers Marks and Spencer and Waitrose scored highest and did not shy away from commenting.

M&S’ standard roll contains a 35 per cent meat versus pastry ratio while its sausage is an impressive 100 per cent pork.

Sarah Graham, M&S deli expert, told the Sun Online: “We know our customers like their sausage rolls to have lots of meat in them so we ensure ours have the perfect amount and are encased in a light, crisp pastry.”

Waitrose Premium Pork Sausage Rolls also ranked among the best as 40 per cent of their rolls were made up of meat and 80 per cent of their sausage were made up of pork.

Budget retailer Aldi ranked third with its Pork and Chutney rolls containing more than 33 per cent meat overall and 77 per cent of its sausage being pork for just £1.49.

And sausage rolls fans won't have to break the bank to enjoy a meaty snack. M&S is selling standard rolls for less than £1 at just 75p for the pack of 120g, while Aldi's 188g Chutney rolls cost only £1.49 and Waitrose is selling their 160g premium packs for £1.99.

Responding on behalf of the retailers who did not wish to comment, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) explained that “sausage roll” is a reserved description under the Meat Products Regulations 2014.

This means that in order to use the name a product must meet the minimum meat content stipulated in the regulations.

“All BRC members instruct their suppliers to ensure products meet relevant legal requirements in addition to their individual customer specifications,” a spokesperson from the BRC told the Sun Online.

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