Turns out not every kebab is the ‘real deal’
For an investigation by Channel 4’s Food Unwrapped, Jimmy Doherty went to find out all about doner kebabs and what goes into making them.
In the factory, he learns that a doner kebab should be made of lamb – no other meats. And here, it’s mixed with textured soya protein, onion powder and salt to keep it bulked out and easy to cut.
The factory worker explains that the proper doner kebabs they make contain 85 percent lamb, five percent bulker, five percent rusk and five percent seasoning and salt.
However, the same can’t always be said for every kebab shop that sits on the high street, with the worker adding: “There are companies out there that are labelling up kebabs and they’re containing beef and chicken – and there have been some instances of pork, which, for the Muslim community, is a big no-no.”
The ‘real deal’ is lamb only. (YouTube / Food Unwrapped)
So, to put this to the test, nine different doner kebabs are bought from various spots which all ‘claim to be lamb’ and are sent off to a DNA testing lab to establish exactly what’s in them.
Here’s where things get a bit gross as forensic scientist Paul Hancock explains the team looks out for: “Beef, pork, lamb, chicken, donkey, goat and horse.”
And the results are pretty concerning as he says only one of the nine samples ‘contains lamb only’.
Yep, Doherty echoes: “There is only one doner kebab that is the real deal.”
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Turns out a lot of kebabs aren’t the ‘real deal’
Hancock goes on to explain: “Most of them contain chicken, we’ve also got a couple which contain beef.
“Fortunately, we found no goat, no donkey and no horse in any of the products.”
But he says if he was given more samples, the scientist would expect to see a 60 percent failure rate as that ‘would probably be typical’.
So, next time you’re scranning that doner kebab on your way home, be aware that it might not be the ‘real deal’ and could have some other random meats in the mix.
Featured Image Credit: YouTube / Food Unwrapped
