Is my maths out or is this misleading (or just plain wrong)?

[Sparklfairy]

I bought an 8 pack of pork loin steaks from Sainsburys. I keep a vague eye on calories but don't religiously log every single thing.

My last pack I bought from Asda, and I'm shocked at the difference in calories (supposedly) and think one of them must be wrong?

Both 8 packs, both 800g, so 100g per steak.

Asda - 302 calories, 22g fat per steak.

Sainsburys - 338 calories, 21g fat PER TWO STEAKS (which they suggest is a serving).

How can Sainsburys pork be half as calorific as Asda? It can't be right, can it? What have I missed? I'm sure it's something really obvious that I just haven't realised, but it does knock your confidence about calorie counting a bit!

Links so you can see...

www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/sainsburys-british-8-thin-cut-loin-steaks-800g-p

groceries.asda.com/product/pork-chops-steaks/asda-butchers-selection-8-pork-loin-steaks/910002871253

I think something is up with the description for sainsburys one. As logically 2 steaks in an 8 pack should be 200g. But then the calories are listed based on 100g as 248, so for 2 should be 496g.

But then you’re also right that even the 100g calorie discrepancy between Asda and sainsburys is weirdly high!

The Asda one is the calories for one steak when pan-fried. Their cooking instructions say use 1 tbsp of oil so presume they are including this in their figures. The Sains one is just the raw product values.

They're both right. The difference is that Sainsbury's is giving the calorie value for the uncooked weight. ASDA is giving the calorie value once they are pan fried.

Maybe asda ones have more fat in them per 100g? My maths are horrific so probably completely wrong

Scrap that. Sainsbury's also say as cooked.

It's saying less fat,. It more meat.
So the meat must have more calories than the fat.
They have to test it, so that's the only thing different.
Maybe the Sainsbury's pork is a pig feed on better food. So it shows in the meat.

Yeah that's the thing @Lougle, they both say cooked! I looked about 10 times as I know cooked and uncooked can have different figures...

@Noooooogsh I still have the packet for Sainsburys and it's exactly the same as the website. MFP for the Asda says the same as their site too. It's a pretty big discrepancy if you're being strict with calories!

Maybe one is more 'fatty' than the other, but pig is pig, and a lot of supermarkets have the same suppliers so I'm just left feeling a bit confused and put off that even the calories written on the bloody packet might not be accurate

Sainsbury's says to grill. Asda says to fry.
The sainsbury's one will lose more weight so 2 steaks won't weight 200g anymore, that's the weight discrepancy.
But the sainsbury's one will also lose fat whereas the asda one will gain fat. Hence the calorie discrepancy.

If you look at the cooking instructions, Asda uses 1tbsp of oil (20ml?)whereas Sainsbury's uses 5ml which is a teaspoon.

Then compare the calories and fat per 100g:
Sainsburys is 250 odd cals and 15g fat
Asda is 302 cal and 22g fat.

The difference is very likely due to the different cooking methods on the pages and the additional 15ml of oil used by Asda.

With anything like meat (fruit, veg etc) it's all worked on averages. No two steaks both weighing the same are going to be exactly the same calories due to variations in things like fat and water content.

You may find that a cheaper supermarket eg asda has pork steaks with a larger amount of fat (so more calories on average) and a pricier supermarket eg sainsburys gets the leaner cuts (lower calories on average)

But as @Noooooogsh says, it looks like there's an error in the sainsbos figures

That's supported by both referring to their cooking method when giving cals per 100g.

The companies have to cook the steaks and test the figures.
So they won't have a mistake, it has to be down to how it's cooked.
Moral always grill meat if on a diet.

@Angrypregnantlady and @k1233 on the website both sites have both grill and fry. Yes, asda suggests a tablespoon of oil for frying which according to google is 17ml ( ) but for grilling they just say 'lightly brush the steaks with oil'

Tbh why are they including the oil in the calories anyway? I never even though of that but people cook differently, use frylight or butter or whatever...

There's not many peole who are as sad as me who would sit and analyse the nuances in fucking calories, so if you're trying to lose weight and calories count I'm not sure how you're supposed to do it easily with conflicting information like this...

The Sainsbury’s figure for 2 steaks is less than twice the figure for 100g because once they’re grilled they’ll weigh less than 100g each. The difference per 100 cooked grams between the two supermarkets will be down to the difference in cooking methods and the amount of water in each.

No, when you look at the 100g - right next to that Sainsbury's says when cooked per instructions and Asda says pan fried. That's the cooking method used for the calories etc and both describe what that method of cooking is further down the page.

If they just gave you the raw calories per 100g I'm pretty sure they'd be similar.

Calories for oil attached.
15ml = 120 cals and 15g fat.
So 5ml = 40 cals and 5g fat.

Certainly seems to explain the difference you are seeing.

I find Sainsbury's meat shrinks a lot. Maybe that's why? More water content?
I avoid buying meat there for this reason

ok @k1233 well riddle me this!

Sainsburys 4 packs are 120g a steak instead of 100g. But, 100g cooked 'as per instructions' (identical instructions) has a totally different calorie content. 197cals/100g cooked vs 248cals/100g cooked for the 8 pack.

HOW!?

I thought @Catmummyof2 had nailed it but maybe not!

@Sparklfairy

ok *@k1233* well riddle me this!

Sainsburys 4 packs are 120g a steak instead of 100g. But, 100g cooked 'as per instructions' (identical instructions) has a totally different calorie content. 197cals/100g cooked vs 248cals/100g cooked for the 8 pack.

HOW!?

I thought @Catmummyof2 had nailed it but maybe not!

Link?

Sorry I forgot:

www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/sainsburys-pork-loin-steaks-x4-480g

and sorry, it's 219 vs 248 /100g cooked

@Sparklfairy

ok *@k1233* well riddle me this!

Sainsburys 4 packs are 120g a steak instead of 100g. But, 100g cooked 'as per instructions' (identical instructions) has a totally different calorie content. 197cals/100g cooked vs 248cals/100g cooked for the 8 pack.

HOW!?

I thought @Catmummyof2 had nailed it but maybe not!

120g packs are boneless so maybe the bone makes it fattier? Not sure why there's 4 times as much slat though!

If you're using MFP, for things like this (meat, veg, non-processed foods) I would search for a generic raw version that lists calories per 100g. Weigh the raw meat before you cook and log any added fat separately. I would also add "USDA" to search terms, I found they were usually the most reliable :)

@slashlover they're all boneless! confusing bastards

@goodwinter these are actually very good tips. I think the whole calorie counting thing is a bit of a minefield now. I had a friend who started logging everything on MFP, but because it's marketed as 'quick and easy', he'd buy a bottle of lucozade, scan it, and not look much closer. In actual fact, he thought he was logging a 500ml bottle of lucozade (obviously planning on drinking the whole thing, as you would), when it was actually just 1 'portion' that was 250ml! He never noticed until I pointed it out.

It seems 'calorie counting' isn't quite as simple as it looks...