More News
SAUSAGE PORKY PIES

Porky Lights sausages ‘Syn’ value re-assessed by Slimming World who reveal they are NOT as healthy as they first thought

By Kathryn Cain and Dan Sales
1st March 2017, 6:15 pm
Updated: 2nd March 2017, 7:26 pm

DIETERS have gone bonkers after low fat sausages they were pigging out were re-categorised by Slimming World – as 800 percent worse than initially thought.

The “healthy” banger caused a storm after the 900,000 member diet club categorised them as having just 0.5 “syn points” due to their claim of having only 2.5g of fat.
News Group Newspapers Ltd
Amy McTaggart has been buying Porky Lights to fit in with her diet

News Group Newspapers Ltd
But she was outraged to discover they might not be as healthy as she originally thought

Slimming World has told its members Porky Lights sausages are worth 4.5 syns not 0.5

SWNS
The sausages have been flying off the shelves for months

Supermarkets were selling out of the pork sausages – advertised as just 78 calories – quicker than they can buy them in, leaving bare shelves across the country.

But dieters reported putting on weight after eating them and now Slimming World has re-categorised the sausages after “analysis showed the sausages were indeed much higher in fat than the nutrition panel indicated”.

Slimming World say Porky Lights should now be counted as 4.5 syns EACH – meaning dieters have been unknowingly breaking their diets for months.
SWNS
They are advertised as only having 78 calories and 2.5g of fat per banger

SWNS
But Slimming World sent them off for tests and found they were worth 4.5 syn points

SWNS
People are angry that the difference has affected their weight loss

The manufacturers G White & Co have denied Slimming World’s claims and are taking legal action.

The Slimming World diet plan lets followers consume up to 15 “points” worth of higher calories foods and treats a day.

The Surrey-based sausages maker’s Facebook page was today bombarded with angry messages from furious dieters.

Alice James wrote: “Will we be entitled to a full refund for our Porky Lights please? They are no good to us anymore if recent research is true.”

Sammie Grinstead‎ vented: “I WOULD LIKE A REFUND FOR EVERY PACKET OF PORKY LIGHTS I HAVE PURCHESED…HOW CAN YOU GET IT SO WRONG #PORKYSTELLINGPORKYS” (sic)

Vikki Jeffreys wrote: “Really distressing to read from a SW post that your nutritional information is inaccurate.

Related stories

SQUEAKS ON A PLANE
British Airways flight grounded at Heathrow Airport after crew find a MOUSE on board
'WE THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO DIE'
Family of boy, 14, share picture of him in a coma after his 'drink was spiked with ecstasy'

“We have been informed that the fat content has tested far higher than what packaging states.

“This has the potential to affect a great deal of us. What else is wrong on the NI?”

Claire Brookes‎ added: “Disgusted to see you have misinformed thousands of slimmers by giving out the wrong nutritional information!!

“Affecting everyone’s weight loss! I have a freezer drawer full of porky lights that I now can’t eat!

“Absolutely shocking!! Will never be buying your product again and will be informing everyone I can about this!”

Amy McTaggart, 34, from Basildon, Essex, said weeks of slimming were suddenly derailed by the bangers.
She said: “I have lost 2st 11lbs over the past few weeks, but put four pounds on this week. The only thing that had been different was that I had eaten seven of these sausages.”
She complained to Slimming World and was told they had been removed. Amy said: “They said I had to count them as four-and-a-half Syns.  I’m gutted. Surely they should have done these tests before?”
The £2.25 six-pack of low fat 70 per cent pork sausages were released in a limited number of smaller supermarkets last year, it is understood.
But after word spread of their alleged 0.5 syn value, the suppliers Porky Whites sold them into larger shops.
Dieters rushed to buy packs of Porky Lights in January after Slimming World  ranked one sausage as half a “Syn” in its  point system, compared with five for normal bangers.
Some  drove up to 50 miles for supplies  after shops sold out due to people stockpiling.
SWNS
Dieters, who have been snapping up Porky Lights for months, are now outraged

SWNS
They are demanding refunds after the sausages caused them to unknowingly break their diets

SWNS
They are disgusted they have freezers full of the sausages they can no longer eat after spending months trying to buy them

The Porky Whites Facebook page has more than 4,000 likes and almost every visitor post – until today – was from Slimming World devotees asking for more sausages.

But on Wednesday Slimming World consultants started to spread the word of the apparently false information about their nutritional value.

A statement shared online – which members said Slimming World had sent them, said: “The Food Co-ordination team at Slimming World Head Office has done some analysis on Porky Lights sausages, after becoming a little concerned about their fatty (albeit delicious!) texture.

“The analysis showed that the sausages were indeed much higher in fat than the nutrition panel indicated – and this does affect their Syn value significantly.
SWNS
Slimming World said the fat content was much higher than they previous thought

SWNS
The company said Porky Whites, which makes the sausages, is looking into it urgently

“We’ve been in touch with Porky Lights to let them know our findings, and they’re looking into it as we speak.

“To help protect your weight loss until we have accurate nutritional information to use as a base for our calculations, the sausages have been temporarily removed from Syns Online, the App and Weight Loss Planner’s Syns search and on the Syns Hotline.

“In the meantime, if you have a pack of Porky Lights in your fridge/freezer, we’d recommend you count 4½ Syns per sausage.

“We’ll be in touch with more news – through your consultant – once we have it.”

Posting a statement to the news on its Facebook page on Wednesday night, G White & Co, the makers of Porky Lights, said: “Slimming World’s recent re-valuation of the Porky Lights Syn value as a result of some new tests has come to light and is causing concern amongst Porky Lights customers.

“G White & Co are currently in dialogue with Slimming World to establish how their values were ascertained but want to unequivocally state that the Slimming World results are neither consistent between their own batch tests and are highly inconsistent with the nutritional results that have been produced by numerous tests, over a number of months from a number of independent UKAS approved food laboratories.
SWNS
Until today the Facebook page was mostly filled with messages of people trying to find out where to buy them

“We have only the interests of our customers at this time and have published our most recent set of nutritional results for all to see.

“We hope to be working closely with Slimming World to understand how their results differ from the findings of other laboratories and hope that once clarified, the temporary withdrawal of Porky Lights from the Slimming World’s Syns Database can be reversed and Porky Lights fans can enjoy their sausages in the full knowledge that they really are only 3 per cent fat and 78 calories per sausage.”

Chairman Graham White added: “We are standing by our products and the testing we do.

“We have instructed solicitors and we will be writing to Slimming World.

“What they have done is very interesting. I’m disappointed they have done this.

“Why, when we have won sausage of the year, would we want to do anything that would give us a bad name?”

It  was also claimed a rival sausage firm carried out the testing.
An industry source said: “It wasn’t Slimming World that put the product into the lab —  it was a rival competitor of Porky Whites.
“I think there’s a little more than sour grapes here.”
Slimming World would not comment on the claims.

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368

 

Exit mobile version