Over the last few days there has been some media activity regarding the use of phosphates in foods.  The headlines were proclaiming that Doner Kebabs could be banned.

This has caused a ripple of confusion to spread through to wholesalers and end users.  Rest assured that there is no need to panic.

Once again, this seems to be lazy journalism that is designed to create a story from nothing.

The story seemed to be based on a German initiative which targeted Turkish style kebabs. These are the stacked meat variety rather than ‘minced’ doner that we manufacture in the UK. However, the initiative suggested that they should not ban the same phosphates being used in the manufacture of German sausages.  Once you read beyond the sensationalism of the headlines, the fact is that the proposal to the European Parliament Health Committee voted 32-22 to oppose it.

The kebab market is too easy to pour scorn on due to the existing public perception of our industry. To have a sensational headline underlined by an article cancelling out the claims in it is, in our minds, irresponsible reporting to garner public reaction.

However, because this has caused some customers to question what we put in a kebab, even though it’s all on the label, we are taking this opportunity to clarify our position on phosphates.

What are phosphates?
Your body needs phosphates, compounds that contain the mineral phosphorus, to build strong bones and teeth, to help synthesize DNA and RNA and to keep the kidneys functioning properly. Healthy adults should have approximately 700 milligrams of phosphorus each day. However, if you consume too many phosphates, especially as an additive in processed foods, you may increase your risk of heart and kidney disease.

Phosphorus is found naturally in dairy, meat, and plants. It’s needed to help cells work properly. Phosphates enhance flavour and moistness in deli meats, frozen food, cereals, cheese, and baked goods.  For example, an 8oz serving of plain, non-fat yoghurt contains 385mg of phosphates.

Cola and carbonated soft drinks, flavoured water, bottled coffee beverages and fruit flavoured drinks typically contain phosphate additives to improve their flavour and texture.  They also prevent the components from separating. A 12oz serving of cola contains 41 milligrams of added phosphates.  To avoid these sources of phosphates, check the ingredient label for phosphoric acid, monocalcium phosphate or tricalcium phosphate and choose unsweetened, unprocessed beverages more often.

Phosphates are present in a Double A kebab.  They are used in the spice pack to enhance flavour. These phosphates control water loss during cooking which gives a more succulent product less prone to drying out.  Cooking yields would be affected if phosphates are removed meaning less kebabs from each doner.  Also, the doner will become more fragile and difficult to cut leading to inconsistency in quality if the phosphates are removed.

Being BRC AA Accredited, all of our ingredients are at levels approved by all current food laws.  Our technical team are fully aware food legislation and will immediately respond to any changes required by law.

In short,
Double A Kebab products are legal and within all existing nutritional guidelines.

We see the recent media activity as trivial and unhelpful to the public.  The headlines seem only to have been created to create ill feeling towards our industry.

Rest assured that Double A Kebab are at the forefront of kebab manufacturing and will continue to produce the best tasting and highest quality kebab on the market.

If you would like to know more on this subject, or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Double A Kebab directly.

Double A Kebab Ltd
Enterprise Road
Millennium Business Park
Mansfield
Nottinghamshire
NG19 7JX
01623 422888
info@doubleakebab.co.uk

Lastly,..At least one blogger has seen through all this! Well done Rory.

The ‘How To’ section of the website has been updated to include 2 videos.

One video shows how you can save the first cut of the kebab.  This means you achieve maximum yield.

And the other shows how to avoid ‘pinking’ that sometimes happens in warmer months.  You’ve got to love a bit of science with your kebab!

You can find them using the tabs at the top of the page, by searching for ‘Double A Kebab’ on YouTube,  or simply watching them by clicking on them below.

Double A Kebab are pleased to announce that they are now an A-Grade BRC accredited manufacturer.

BRC accreditation is a global standard for food manufacture where manufacturing practices, traceability and hygiene are constantly monitored at the highest level.

Martyn Hayward, Operations Manager, has spearheaded the project and says “It’s been a shift in working practices but the staff at Double A have really responded well to the additional workload required in their day to day duties.  It’s good to have a team wanting to work to the highest standards”

Double A enlisted the services of Food Fix Ltd to guide them through the accreditation process. Ian Trevor was the lead consultant on the project and, along with Food Safety Consultant David Koenig-Green, has achieved the target of gaining the A-grade at first attempt.  Ian comments “It’s been a great journey taking the company through the accreditation process.  What inspired me to take the consultancy position in the first place was the drive and clarity of vison within the Double A team.  I can’t wait to be part of the next exciting stage of the expansion plans.”

Double A have also invested in the factory and warehousing. Martyn continues, “Those who have previously visited our premises will know that they weren’t too shabby to start with. Now, with over £100k investment in the building alone, we are set for the future growth of Double A”

In the last few years, alongside the strong performance of the core kebab product, Double A have seen growth in the manufacturing of products for other big brands in food retail and food service.  BRC accreditation will see this diversification continue. “Our Kebab product will always be at the heart of the company.” Martyn explains, “It’s what made us. However, for the company to grow we need to find new customers and markets and to serve.  We certainly won’t be neglecting the kebab but, now we have the BRC accreditation, we are able to serve the customers who have been knocking on our door wanting us to produce on their behalf.”

The future of the Double A Kebab is secure, that side of the business will not change except for manufacturing under BRC conditions.  The company growth will continue as it evolves into a food processing company in new sectors.

We haven’t updated the news feed for a while.  The excuse?  We’ve been busy working on the new Kebab Burger.  The newly trademarked ‘Keburger’ has now gone into full production and is available to buy. The first shipment was delivered to a wholesaler last week.

The Keburger is NOT kebab meat in a burger shape.  It is a high quality Beef Burger to which we add our famous Double A Kebab spices.  They taste awesome..and we took time to make sure the burger looks as much like a hand pressed burger as we possibly could with mass production.  The edges are rounded because we press the meat rather than cutting it out like a cookie cutter.  The new website www.keburger.co.uk will be online soon, Until then, here’s some images showing the awesome new Keburger

Another ‘Behind The Scenes’ look at our manufacturing process.

Its been a while since we last posted a story from the factory…And since everyone is talking about ingredients in food manufacture we thought we’d show you a picture of a mixing tub taken a few minutes ago in the factory.

During a recent factory tour, our vistors were amazed to see the meat that we use. The comment was ” thats good enough to take home and cook for lunch!”

Whilst we see the ingredients everyday,..we sometimes take for granted the quality of ingredients that we use in our kebab mix.  The fresh green Jalepeno’s for example.

We DO NOT buy in pre minced meat. The picture shows the meat after being broken down to smaller pieces prior to going through our mincers on site. After this the secret blend of spices are added.

We hope that pictures like this reinforce our claims that we use the best meats and the finest spices.  This is a Double A Kebab… if you are not using a Double A product, can you be sure what’s in your Doner?

Double A Kebab advice for in-store labelling

Once again the media has targeted the take-away business with headlines based around the meats used in food preparation.  Kebab was included in this media activity even though the initial reports were that curry takeaways had been inspected.

As a kebab manufacturer in an industry with a poor reputation with regards to ingredients, Double A Kebab can once again reassure our customers that we have safeguards in place to stop any mislabelling or substitute meats being used in our manufacture.

We actually approve of the increased activity by Trading Standards into the takeaway business.  However, in this case the media activity can be seen as a warning to the retailer (end user) more than the manufacturer.  It may be in your best interests to look at your menu and re-write them to show the correct description of product.

Some guidance that we have taken from Trading Standards is as follows.
This information is for guidance only. Please refer to your own Trading Standards Officer to ensure that this information is correct after the date of this memo.

The view of Trading Standards is that a Doner Kebab is an all Lamb product.
However, if the kebab contains any other species the description must be added.
For example,..Lamb and Beef Doner Kebab or Doner Kebab (Lamb & Beef).
If the kebab contains Beef only, it must be described as a Beef Doner Kebab or Doner Kebab (Beef).

The actual wording can be altered as long as it is clear that the kebab is different from an all Lamb product.

It’s quite simple when you relate it to labelling of Fish & Chips moving to ‘Cod & Chips’ or ‘Haddock & Chips’ where the species must match the description.

In short,..If its not an All Lamb product you must state the species in your menu description.

The fine for incorrect labelling on menu’s, and serving meats other than claimed on the menu has been £5,000. 
Trading Standards has just been istructed to spot check 300 retailers in each area to stop mis-labelling and use of incorrect meats.

In the case of products with GPM which is used as a binding agent containing Chicken, we are waiting for further direction from Trading Standards regarding the classification of this product.  Some Trading Standards offices see it as a meat which needs to be on the menu description (it is clearly shown on the label) whereas some see it as a non-meat binding agent.

Until we gain further guidance, any Double A Kebab product marketed as Lamb & Beef can be named as such on menu’s.  If this alters we will obviously inform you further.

However, this will obviously have a knock on effect to other brands of kebab which may also need to revise their product descriptions to match the full contents of the product and label.

Double A ‘Yeeros’ and ‘Yeeros Taste’ products only contain Lamb and therefore can legally be called a Doner Kebab on shop menus.

Our meat policy….

Double A Kebab conduct a full analysis of products on a fortnightly basis.  This involves us submitting samples of products manufactured for record of meat content, species testing and ingredient percentage.  This test is conducted by ILS in Derby which is a highly regarded laboratory working within the meat manufacturing trades amongst others.

Double A Kebab are part of the Primary Authority Partnership (PAP) which allows us to work hand in hand with the Environmental Health Services and Trading Standards.  Double A Kebab is the only kebab manufacturer to be a part of PAP and work with the authorities in such a close way. We strive to be the most trusted brand in the kebab market and will continue to promote the industry in a positive and proffesional manner.

Even with these reassurances, customers may have additional questions regarding species testing or quality control.  If so, contact Double A Kebab on 01623 422888 or info@doubleakebab.co.uk

Did you spot it?

In the first episode of ‘Sherlock’ Season 3,..broadcast between Christmas and New Year

Sherlock and Watson ended the night in a takeaway shop,..But who’s kebab was on the spit?

OK,…there’s a few issues with the way it’s being cooked/stored,…but its not as bad as the kebab in Coronation Street!!…

Looking at the shape of it….it could be…couldn’t it?  Double A?

The mystery is that we’ll never know. However, cynics will suggest that it is a plastic prop. (That chicken will need a cut soon too!)..But hey… They would make it in a cone shape wouldn’t they?

Maybe the next case for Sherlock could be to track down the true manufacturer?

At Double A Kebab we know that we have a great tasting product.
And we also know that our reputation is built on providing a product that has unrivalled consistency and performance.
But we also understand that we can’t be perfect all of the time.
Therefore, we continually test our kebabs in our factory and with a few local kebab retailers to gain ‘real world’ feedback.

As you can see from the picture, We have a QC (Quality Control) area in which we cook kebabs every day.  We test for taste, spice levels, texture, weight, fat loss, moisture levels, and other tests involving the look, feel and taste of the product.

We use sharp and blunt knives, we cook correctly and incorrectly (including really burning them and leaving on a low heat) to ensure that no matter how a retailer uses a Double A kebab, we can provide a product that doesn’t fail.  We also monitor what happens to the product in a Bain Marie!  And we also can test the differences between cooking on gas or electric machines.  We try to cover all aspects of cooking a kebab.

The ‘off site’ testing is done continuosly by our partner shops.  They allow us to gain valuable feedback from staff and customers.  Issues can arise in a shop that you simply can’t encounter in a QC area.  This gives us the ability to spot any potential issues before they impact on any of our wholesalers or end users.

We don’t claim to be 100% perfect…but we try our hardest to get as close to it as possible.

Our Quality Control is another way for us to be the most consistent performer on the market today.

It’s Monday..and we take a look behind the scenes in the factory.
The new fresh Jalepeno chillies are ready and waiting for this week’s production.

The trays in the picture will be used and replenished during the week. This ensures that we use the freshest ingredients on the market.

Double A Kebab uses an average of £1,000 worth of Jalepeno’s each week!

This, when combined with the Double A signature spice mix, gives a Double A Kebab an unbeatable taste. Not too hot, Not too spicy…Just right.

Double A Kebab.  Best quality meats, the finest spices.  That’s the DNA of Double A

Traditionally a Doner Kebab has been served with salad in a pitta.  But it seems that times are changing.

Take a look on the highstreet today.  The big fast food retailers are doing great business with wraps. It’s the same core product which has been re-packaged.

So why the success?

Firstly it’s a reletively new innovation for the big chain brands.  And with most things new, people will try it.  When the cool kids start eating wraps, the rest will shortly follow.
Now take a look on the streets,..hardly anyone walks with thier head up these days.  Especially the younger generation.  They are all walking like zombies staring at a mobile phone screen.  This is where a wrap beats a pitta ‘hands down’ !  You can hold and eat a wrap in one hand, and still work a phone with the other.  Now try that with a Pitta bread.

A pitta Doner is fine for someone wanting a substantial meal. It feels like you are buying a substantial lump of food.  But for everyday ‘grab n go’ trade a ‘lump’ can be too much and, lets face it, its not a pretty sight watching someone battle with it.

The kebab industry has poor PR in the minds of the consumer.  The classic image of the ‘apres pub’ customer leant against a lampost picking the salad out of the pitta..its not a good image.  The move to using wraps might drag the perception of the kebab away from this and entice the younger customer, who are your future, to choose a kebab wrap over other products on your highstreet.

Operationally, offering kebab in a wrap can be more profitable.  With easier portion control and no need for a toaster for the pitta, you can offer a kebab product at a price to rival the competition.  £1.99 menu’s are being used by most of the big brands.  A couple of slices of kebab, some salad and a sauce, you can easily join in.

A snapshot overview from a handful of shops local to Double A Kebab HQ is quite staggering.  Approx 3 years ago, Doner sales were 60% Pitta and  20% with chips and 10% in wraps.  These days, whilst the chip option hasn’t moved, the pitta to wraps percentages have almost reversed.

If the trend is for customers to choose a wrapped meal,..you’d better have it on your menu.  If you don’t, the customer will be tempted by the wraps on offer elsewhere.