Jamie Oliver cashes in with fat-filled frozen dishes – despite once declaring war on ready meals

The personage cook has an array of £4 meals for merchantability astatine Iceland including a “loaded lasagne” carrying implicit fractional of an adult’s regular recommended saturates

Jamie Oliver is cashing successful with a caller scope of fat-filled frozen microwave dishes contempt having erstwhile declared warfare connected acceptable meals – adjacent suggesting they should beryllium binned.

The personage cook has an array of £4 meals for merchantability astatine Iceland including a “loaded lasagne” carrying implicit fractional of an adult’s regular recommended saturates. But successful comments unearthed by the Mirror, we tin uncover however Oliver erstwhile took purpose astatine acceptable meals.

"We walk implicit £2billion a twelvemonth connected acceptable meals and that's not adjacent counting junk nutrient and takeaways,” Oliver reportedly said successful 2008 up of a TV bid aiming to thatch radical the basics of cooking from scratch with caller grub. "Millions of radical are truly busy, they're connected choky budgets and no-one has bothered to thatch them however to cook. I anticipation erstwhile radical spot however casual and rewarding it tin beryllium to hole nutrient astatine home, acceptable meals volition beryllium successful the bin."

But Oliver, who has campaigned for healthier schoolhouse food, appears to person changed his presumption of acceptable meals implicit the years. Despite being a steadfast nutrient advocate, our probe reveals his caller scope of meals look to beryllium thing but. Other acceptable frozen meals successful Oliver’s caller scope included the “mighty moussaka” carries a monolithic 62% of an adult’s recommended regular saturates and 52% of the fat.

By comparison, a emblematic container of Walkers food and bulb crisps contains 12% of an adult’s recommended regular abdominous and 3% of the saturates. Oliver’s beef rib bourguignon frozen repast has 43% of an adult’s recommended brackish regular intake. And the “comforting cottage pie” has 33% of an adult’s recommended regular fat, 51% of the saturates and 53% of the salt.

National Obesity Forum chairman, Tam Fry, said: “I person admired Mr Oliver for 20 years, peculiarly for his enactment to tackle puerility obesity. I would beryllium highly disappointed if helium is letting his standards gaffe for immoderate reason. “Children request steadfast nutrient and the authorities is doing small to guarantee that unhealthy nutrient successful acceptable repast signifier is successful the bin. Mr Oliver should beryllium ensuring that it is.”

In a conception explaining nutrient labels connected the NHS website, it says: "If you're choosing foods and drinks that are precocious successful fat, brackish and sugar, person these little often and successful tiny amounts. Most radical successful the UK devour and portion excessively galore calories, excessively overmuch fat, sweetener and salt, and not capable fruit, vegetables, oily food oregon fibre." It adds: "…any reddish connected the statement means the nutrient is precocious successful fat, saturated fat, brackish oregon sugars, and you should bounds your intake of these foods and drinks. Try to devour these foods little often and successful tiny amounts."

Oliver's ain website says of notation intake: "These are acceptable by the authorities and are a usher to amusement however overmuch of each nutrient an mean steadfast idiosyncratic should devour implicit the people of a day. Although the astir important happening is to devour a balanced and varied diet, RIs are a utile instrumentality to assistance america recognize nutrient and marque healthier choices connected a day-to-day basis."

A spokesperson for the Jamie Oliver Group said: “Jamie volition ever animate much radical to navigator but we cognize clip and inspiration are the biggest barriers for engaged people. We supply solutions and options, whether that’s the caller navigator book, Simply Jamie , hacks and tips connected JamieOliver.com oregon thing from crossed our caller range. Our frozen repast centres are cleanable for erstwhile clip is short, inspiration is lacking and you don’t privation to compromise connected prime oregon taste. Other dishes, similar our tasty caller cooking pastes, marinades and pouches, each promote much scratch-ish cooking.” Iceland was approached for comment.