Which? has analysed more than 50 butters and spreads, ranking them by their saturated fat content per 100g. The investigation revealed a significant difference in nutritional profiles, with the worst performers containing approximately ten times more saturated fat than the best.
Of the 16 products with the highest saturated fat, 15 were block-style spreads, with 12 being dairy block butters. These products contained at least 39g of saturated fat per 100g. In contrast, the healthiest options had saturated fat levels as low as 5.6g per 100g.
The analysis highlighted that 'plant-based' does not always equate to lower saturated fat, as four plant-based blocks were among the top 15 highest saturated fat products. Spreadable butter was also found to cost up to 25% more per 100g compared to block butter.
Among the five healthiest spreads for saturated fat were I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light (5.6g per 100g) and Flora Lighter (5.7g per 100g). The least healthy included President Butter with sea salt crystals (55g per 100g) and Country Life Unsalted Butter (54.7g per 100g).