Questionable nutritional value aside, if you’ve watched any of the investigative TV programmes about how it’s possible to produce food so cheaply then you may wish to reconsider this offer. More “connective tissue” in your sausage, sir? Is the extra water pumped in to your bacon made from distressed, miserable, ill pigs raised in factory conditions in Poland (just out of EU animal welfare legislative reach) to your satisfaction?

Of course I understand that people are on tight budgets, but if you’re really hard up and want a cheap, nutritious breakfast then consider eating a bowl of cereal with some milk and fruit instead. It may not deliver the instant satisfaction of a fry-up made with fat, ligament and bits of “meat” that nobody else wants, but it costs less than 98p and won’t clog your arteries. (In case you’re wondering, two Weetabix with a third of a pint of milk and a banana will cost you 39p, according to Asda’s prices, checked online a few minutes ago).

Shouldn’t the Shropshire Star be promoting healthy, locally sourced food instead? And by locally sourced, I don’t mean Bookers on Stafford Park.

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Very well said Jake!

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If the paper wants to promote this, then let it… the minute that people are being told what to print and note the print is the minute we step into dangerous territory.
Just because something is healthy (as cereal undoubtedly is) that doesn’t mean it should be the be all and end all.
Most people are on a budget and through neccessity – I am not talking about the breakfasts – have to buy Smart Price/Basics/Value goods. The ‘ethical/healthy/locally-sourced’ goods are always more expensive – FACT!

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@Mike Giggler: People can eat what they like, as far as I’m concerned, but in my opinion there is not enough openness or readily-available information about why Product A costs less than Product B. The reasons are pretty obvious, of course; if everyone knew what went into the cheap stuff then fewer people would buy it. For example, did you know that a typical economy sausage recipe might look like this: 30% pork fat, 20% recovered meat, 30% rusk and soya, 15% water and 5% assorted e-numbers, flavourings, sugar, flavour enhancer, preservatives and colourings? (Source: Channel 4: What’s In Your Banger?) The ingredients are blitzed into a slurry in an industrial mixer, then piped into collagen cases to form sausage shapes. You can buy 8 of these for 99p from your local supermarket.

Tonight, for my dinner, I’m having lamb and mint sausages “made from best Bridgnorth lamb” (it says on the label). These were £1.49 for 7 from Beaman’s butchers in Bridgnorth. Granted, that’s 50% more than the supermarket economy ones, but we’re talking 9p more per sausage for a darned sight more meat: hardly a bank breaker and it supports the local economy (that extra 50p stays in circulation around Bridgnorth, it doesn’t get banked by Asda head office in Leeds).

I think part of the problem is conditioning by and over-reliance on supermarkets for the most important components of our diets. If people look beyond the supermarket shelves and freezer compartments, it’s surprising how much choice they *do* have, people don’t have to buy the Smart Price/Basics/Value goods. I’m not knocking all of them, mind, some of them are perfectly fine.

One more thing – you say that “just because something is healthy (as cereal undoubtedly is) that doesn’t mean it should be the be all and end all”. Did you miss the bit about it costing 60% less than the unhealthy alternative? If budget really is the issue, then the healthy option would win hands down on value for money alone, not because it’s healthy.

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Mike Giggler, what part of the first comment did you not understand? 98p sounds cheap until you realise you could buy a much healthier breakfast for about 39p! There is a big misconception in this country that healthy food is more expensive. It actually costs more to eat an unhealthy diet.

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Midway Truck Stop @ Whitchurch.

THAT is the best value breakfast in Shropshire.

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I hope the banana is locally sourced and not shipped in from the other side of the world in a large diesel powered container ship crewed by under paid, ill treated staff.
I certainly wouldn’t want to encourage or support that kind of trade..

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Perfectly healthy breakfast if cooked in the right way with minimum oil or better still grilled, remove fat from bacon, dry fry the eggs (or poach or scramble them), low fat spread on toast.

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Andy H

I know but I can never succumb – I’ve worked too hard!

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it’s a breakfast…and a good one! chill out people!

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[hypocrits] Do you mean Hypocrites, Andrew?

I personally always look to see the meat content before buying any sausages.
Cheaper ones have less than 40% meat as a general rule.

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