Leon&León, world’s first low-carb fries with 30% less calories
Due to the many questions consumers ask on our website, team Leon&León wants to clarify some aspects about our product.
Volume
Airfryer users have the habit to prepare fries in big amounts and contradictory to the recommended method of preparation. The instructions on how to use the Philips Airfryer are not tailored to the quality of the baking process, but to the preparation of large quantities. Unfortunately we can’t change this.
With regards to Leon&León fries, preparing large quantities of fries do not offer the optimum nutritional values. Large volumes lead to a product that deviates from our view of good taste, perfect texture and nutritional value, while our product is developed for the lowest possible calories and carbohydrates.
It is possible to bake our fries in quantities of 500g, but then with a baking time of 11 – 12 minutes, or even longer – which leads to an increase in nutritional value.
Moisture loss during preparation
Frying, even in hot air, is evaporation of moisture from the fries during preparation. There are several comments about similar loss of moisture from Leon&León fries and other fries during a chosen preparation method. If our fries lose as much moisture as other fries, it says nothing about the nutritional values. Our fries start with a higher moisture content and end with more moisture in the baked product compared to other types of fries.
Therefore, the correct comparison is not weight loss of the fries after baking, but the composition of the fries after baking. We measure the nutritional value at a laboratory that is certified for these measurements. In our case this was the laboratory Campden-BRI in the United Kingdom. When our recommended preparation instructions are followed, you will get the declared nutritional value and the desired quality of the product in terms of appearance, texture and structure. Therefore, it is not correct to measure the nutritional value of the prepared product on the basis of moisture loss.
Claims
The claims (30% less calories, carbs and fat) were made based on Leon&León’s comparison with the average value of oil-fried fries according to the official Nevo table.
Why did we choose to compare the product with oil-prepared fries instead of the more obvious comparison with air fryer or oven fries?
We have compared the claims with oil-fried fries because they are the most consumed variant by consumers and we want to compare the nutritional value with the most eaten variant.
In order to claim the specified nutritional values in our product, it is an absolute requirement to make a comparison with recognized reference values in the fries category of the Nevo table. We want to comply with the claimed reduction of at least 30% for calories, carbs and fat compared to certain existing fries products. We have deliberately chosen the Nevo table as the recognized legal reference for oil-fried fries as these values meet the mentioned criteria.
Unfortunately, no Airfryer nutritional value have yet been included in the Nevo table, while according to EU rules we must use legally reliable reference values. So we followed the Nevo table because there is no alternative.
We have tested and analysed almost all variants of Airfryer fries, and we see that Leon&León fries meet the rules set by us and the EU for a 30% reduction in calories, carbohydrates and fat.
Other Airfryer and oven fries, after preparation, have between 45 to 100 kcal/100g more energy value than Leon&León fries. Certainly there are some types of fries that come close to the low values of our fried fries (note: all other types of fries show the values of FROZEN fries on the bag, we show the values of FRIED fries), and we applaud that, but Leon&León fries have the lowest values and, we think, with the perfect crunch and taste.
In other words, our choices are determined by legal frameworks and the desire to distinguish ourselves from oil-fried fries as the most widely eaten version of fries in the Netherlands.
In case there arise more questions on our website, we will be happy to answer them as well!
Team Leon&León
Unfortunately, Leon & León Fries are currently not available at supermarkets. Read here our press release.
