{"id":866326,"date":"2026-08-24T05:22:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T05:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/866326\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T05:22:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T05:22:14","slug":"supermarket-deli-meats-ranked-by-a-nutritionist-which-ones-are-actually-safe-to-eat-often","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/866326\/","title":{"rendered":"Supermarket deli meats ranked by a nutritionist: Which ones are actually safe to eat often"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deli meats are delicious and convenient, but how healthy are they? <\/p>\n

According to nutrition scientist Dr Joanna McMillan, this depends entirely on the type of deli meat you are considering purchasing<\/a>, what you are eating with them, and how often. When navigating the supermarket aisle, Dr McMillan says there are definitely some \u201cbetter\u201d options customers can choose from.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Some deli meats are healthier than others, an expert warns. \u00a0Jo Abi<\/p>\n

\u201cEssentially, what you\u2019re looking for is a meat that looks closer to if you cooked a chicken or roasted a chicken or a side of beef or a piece of lamb, or something ready at home,\u201d she explained on Today.<\/p>\n

That means looking for words like \u201cbreast\u201d for chicken, or \u201croast\u201d or \u201ccarved\u201d on the labels.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just roast beef, roast chicken, roast turkey,\u201d she said of the better choices available from the deli counter. <\/p>\n

She added that the best deli meats will have a high percentage of meat, a short ingredients list, low sodium and less saturated fat.<\/p>\n

The \u2018middle ground\u2019 options<\/p>\n

Dr McMillan says middle-ground deli meat products are most hams and slices.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey process the meat and mix it with \u2013 if you read the ingredients list \u2013 they mix it with things like maltodextrin and gums in order to make it into these perfect little slices,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cNot awful, but I certainly wouldn\u2019t be having these every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr McMillan added that most \u201cregular hams fall into this category,\u201d advising against packing them in school lunchboxes daily. <\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Dr McMillan says there are definitely some \u2018better\u2019 options customers can choose from.\u00a0Today Extra<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly wouldn\u2019t be having these every day,\u201d she said of most hams and meat slices.\u00a0Today Extra<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce or twice a week is probably OK, provided they\u2019ve got wholegrain bread and they\u2019ve got some veggies and fruit in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Items to eat less often<\/p>\n

The deli products Dr McMillan recommends eating less often include salami, pepperoni, cabanossi, bacon, mortadella and other \u201cluncheon meats\u201d \u2013 a group that also includes Aussie icon devon.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Salami, pepperoni, cabanossi, bacon and mortadella should be on the \u2018very occasional\u2019 list.\u00a0Today Extra<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Dr McMillan said there is no health difference between packaged and unpackaged deli meats.\u00a0Jo Abi<\/p>\n

While some of these meats feature in the Mediterranean diet, which is one of the healthier eating regimens to follow, she noted they should only ever be used in small quantities to add flavour, rather than being served as the hero protein.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I do my prawn and chorizo pasta, there\u2019s a little bit of chorizo in there, split between the whole family, then there\u2019s prawns and loads of veggies and some salad on the side made with extra virgin olive oil,\u201d she shared.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are very occasional.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deli freshness and storage warnings<\/p>\n

Purchasing products fresh from the deli counter versus pre-packaged supermarket packs doesn\u2019t inherently change their nutritional value, Dr McMillan said. <\/p>\n

However, when purchasing from the deli, she prefers to see meat carved fresh in front of her, rather than choosing slices that have been previously cut and left \u201csitting there\u201d.<\/p>\n

When it comes to packaged varieties, safety is paramount. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn the packet you know it\u2019s sealed, but once you\u2019ve opened it you must use it by the date that it says,\u201d she warned, referring strictly to the \u201cuse-by\u201d date.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, she advised shoppers to not trust the \u2018sniff test\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes bacteria can be growing without you even realising it, definitely don\u2019t taste test. If in doubt, don\u2019t eat it.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to general health concerns over deli meat consumption, Dr McMillan confirmed these are valid, but can be somewhat \u201cmitigated\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no doubt a high consumption of processed meat<\/a>s will increase your risk of colorectal cancer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Dr McMillan says not to trust the \u2018sniff test\u2019 where deli meat is concerned.\u00a0iStock<\/p>\n

However, she explained these risks can be mitigated through \u201cincreased fibre consumption and wholegrains from different plant-based sources\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, it\u2019s not like you can never have these.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Deli meats are delicious and convenient, but how healthy are they? According to nutrition scientist Dr Joanna McMillan,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":866327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[64,63,137],"class_list":["post-866326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=866326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/866327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=866326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=866326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=866326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}