How much meat is in supermarket burgers? The truth might SHOCK you
YOU may be shocked to know that your supermarket burger may only contain 62 per cent meat - the other 38 per cent is packed with water, onion and flour.
The Sun Online decided to look into how much meat is really in our supermarket beef burgers as Lord Sugar challenges a new batch of candidates to make their own range of the burgers in tonight's episode of the Apprentice.
Food manufacturers must follow the rules set by the Department for Environment, Food &; Rural affairs, which state that beef burgers must contain at least 62 per cent meat.
Unsurprisingly, we found that the supermarket own-brand basic ranges contain the least amount of meat.
The worst? Asda Smart Price Beef Burge which contain the basic requirement of just 62 per cent.
The rest of the burger is mostly made up of water, onions and wheat flour.
Tesco Everyday Value beef burgers are not much better as we reveal that they contain only 63 per cent.
This is similar to Sainsbury's Basics value range that contains just 65 per cent meat.
But the Sun Online also found that, as you would expect, the more premium lines of supermarket beef burgers, the more meat there is in them.
Asda's 4 Quarter Pounder 100 per cent Beef Burger contains the most meat at 99 per cent, alongside burgers from Gourmet Burger King, Iceland and Oakhurst.
The final one per cent is made up of salt and black pepper for flavouring.
Tesco Finest 4 Quarter Pounder Beef Burgers and Sainsbury's Taste the Difference British Beef Burgers both contain 95 per cent meat.
This goes to show that you are what you eat and if you spend a bit more on your burgers then you're likely to get more meat for your money.
A spokesperson for Tesco explained that: "All of our beef burgers contain quality British and Irish beef and we offer a variety of different ranges so our customers can choose what’s right for them."
The value ranges from all three supermarkets start at £1.20 for the Sainsbury's Basics, £1.35 for the Tesco Value burgers and £1.35 for the Asda Smart Price meat.
The premium ranges that contain more meat cost nearly £2 more, retailing for around £3 each.
But just because you spend top money on your beef burgers doesn't mean that you're getting the most meat.
Waitrose's 1 30 day dry aged Hereford beef hand-pressed beef burgers will set you back £4.99 for a pack of two, but contain only 95 per cent meat.
This is quite a steep increase when you realise that the Asda 4 Quarter Pounder Beef Burgers cost £2.85 for twice as many burgers.
Seven out of the ten supermarket burgers that contain 85 per cent meat or less are from the frozen section.
But this doesn't necessarily mean that frozen foods always mean that they contain less meat because at least two feature in the top ten too.
The Morrisons The Best 4 Scotch Beef Quarter Pounders 454g contains 91 per cent beef and the frozen ASDA 4 Quarter Pounder 100 per cent Beef Burgers contain almost 100 per cent meat.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We're committed to providing our customers with great quality, value and choice every time they shop with us.
"That's why we offer an extensive selection of burgers, from our Basics range to our Taste the Difference Beef burgers."
MEATY TRUTH Why your sausage roll may only contain 42% meat – and the retailers who WON’T say how much is in theirs
The Sun Online reached out to Asda but they did not get back to us in time for publishing.
Earlier this summer we revealed how your sausage roll may only contain 42 per cent meat.
Our investigation found that 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.
And don't forget to tune into the Apprentice tonight, October 4, at 9pm on BBC One.
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