Sham ham: 'a cocktail of water and additives'

Some well-known brands of ham contain more water and additives and less meat than you'd expect. One brand had almost as much water and additives as meat, Which? tests have uncovered.

Canned, re-formed hams were among the worst offenders; the four tested contained between 21% and 37% added water. Christmas hamper staple Ye Olde Oak ham comprised just 55% meat and over a third water, meaning nearly half of each mouthful isn't meat, but a mixture of water and additives.

Wafer thin hams were also pretty watery. The worst example, Bernard Matthews wafer thin cooked ham, was over a quarter added water. Marks and Spencer's Danish wafer thin ham contained 18% added water, while budget offerings from the four largest supermarket chains contained between 16 and 25%. Waitrose's British wafer-thin smoked ham was the exception, with less than 1% added water.

By law, producers have to declare the percentage of pork in packaged ham. They also have to label water as an ingredient if it constitutes more than 5% of a cold meat product, but they don't have to say how much has been added. Which? wants an end to this legal loophole.

All but one producer admitted on the front of the pack if they had added water. The exception was Bernard Matthews wafer thin cooked ham, which tucked this information away on the back. It also charged the most for water; 25p of the price of an 89p pack of ham is actually being spent on its 28% of water.

Malcolm Coles, editor, Which?, says: "We want food companies to spell out exactly how much water they've pumped into their ham on the front of packs, so people can easily see how much they're paying for meat, and how much for water and additives. As long as a legal loophole lets companies avoid admitting how much water ham contains, consumers risk being sold a pig in a poke."