FAST - FOOD

'Fast food' to some eateries means 'same day'. Walk into ANY chip shop at ANYTIME and whatever you ask for will never be ready. For example, if you ask for chips the response will be, "We're just waiting for chips", likewise ask for fish and you're greeted with, "Fish will be a few minutes". If you want three fishcakes then only two will be available. If more than two people in front of you in the queue want chips it will be 'waiting for chips' again when it's your turn. The best bet is to look and see what's in the cabinet and order that - though it may have been there all day and need warming up before you even leave the shop. A Chinese take-away, on the other hand, is very different. You could order one of everything on the menu and it's translated through to the kitchen in two syllables - and ready in four minutes. Even after an hours drive home it's still piping hot. The chips are usually superior too.

An advert for Kentucky Fried Chicken was banned for making its meals look bigger and better than the real thing. Watchdogs ruled that the fast food chain had misled the public over the size and appearance of its Bargain Buckets. The advert showed a family of four tucking into the £7.99 meal with at least three pieces of chicken left after they had each eaten one. But one customer complained that his meal contained only six pieces - and did not even come in a bucket. ITC staff visited the chain and concluded that the advert had given a "misleading impression" of the product. They ruled that KFC cannot show it again in its current form.

The chain said its Bargain Buckets were only supposed to contain six pieces of chicken. But the Independent Television Commission ruled the advert suggested otherwise. "The ITC noted that the commercial had shown a family of four each taking a piece of chicken from a bucket after which there clearly remained more than two pieces of chicken," its report said. "The ITC considered that these visuals gave a very clear impression that the bucket contained more than six pieces of chicken and was therefore capable of giving a misleading impression of the product."

The ITC concluded the advert had given a false impression of KFC's packaging. A spokesperson for KFC said, "The Bargain Bucket advertisement referred to by the ITC is no longer on air. We have acknowledged the ITC observations and have already ensured that these are reflected both in the existing advertising campaign and in all future activity."

Doner kebabs, the late-night favourite of drinkers, are supposed to be made from reformed mutton. But two of the four doner kebabs tested by Derbyshire County Council's trading standards officers were found to contain more than the sheep meat they were supposed to. Trading standards officers took 10 samples of food from takeaways and their tests revealed of four doner kebabs, one contained beef and another included beef and poultry.