DISPARITIES IN REPORTED AND ANALYZED TOTAL FAT AND TRANS FAT IN PACKAGED FOODS

Transcription

1 DISPARITIES IN REPORTED AND ANALYZED TOTAL FAT AND TRANS FAT IN PACKAGED FOODS Suneeta Chandorkar 1 and Meenu Singh 2 1 Department of Foods & Nutrition Faculty of Family and Community Sciences The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. Vadodara Gujarat. India 2 Division of Nutrition. St. John s Research Institute. St John s National Academy of Health Sciences. Bangalore Karnataka. India 12th IFDC, 11th -13th OCTOBER, 2017, Buenos Aires, Argentine

2 INTRODUCTION The links between diet, nutrition and chronic diseases are well-established (WHO, 2010) Increased consumption of fat and trans fat through processed foods has lead to increased incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) across population groups (Monteiro, et al, 2011) Processed foods are usually high in total fat and and contain trans fatty acids (TFAs), making them unhealthy for consumption There is paucity of data on fat and trans fat composition of Indian processed packaged foods Therefore, the present investigation aimed at analyzing total fat and trans fat content in processed foods and comparing the analyzed values with the reported values on Nutrition Facts Panel (NFP)

3 OBJECTIVES To conduct a consumer survey for arriving at the most commonly consumed processed foods ( 5 times a month) by the consumers To conduct a market survey for examining the commonly consumed processed packaged foods for fat and trans fat sources in Ingredients List and content on Nutrition Facts Panel To analyze the fat and trans fat content of the most commonly consumed processed foods by the study population To compare the reported and analyzed fat and trans fat content of processed packaged foods

4 STUDY DESIGN Vadodara, Gujarat, India Phase I Consumer survey Random selection of consumers ( 15 years ) from five zones (East, West, North, South and Central) of Vadodara (n=807) to arrive at the most commonly consumed processed packaged foods Phase II Market Survey Purposive selection of processed packaged foods (n=1,020, 29 food categories and 10 food groups) to examine fat and trans fat content and their sources using Nutrition Facts Panel and Ingredients list, respectively Phase III Nutrient Analysis Fat and trans fat analysis of commonly consumed Processed Packaged Foods (n=101) by AOAC method using Gas Chromatography

5 Table 1: Processed Packaged Food Categories and Food Groups S. No. Food groups Food categories Number of Products 1 Wheat and oats based products a. Cornflakes, oats and muesli 46 b. Noodles, pasta and macaroni 66 a. Salty biscuits 18 2 Bakery products b. Sweet biscuits 88 c. Sweet cream wafers Confectionery a.chocolates 39 b. Cakes 6 4 Fruit based products a. Canned fruits 6 b. Jam, marmalades and jellies 38 5 Milk based products a. Butter and cheese 18 b. Spreads and dips 17 a. Malted beverages 27 b. Soft drinks 13 6 Drinks c. Energy drinks 27 d. Juices 37 e. Squashes 15 a. Ready to cook foods 95 b. Ready to use spice mixes 99 7 Ready-to-cook/eat products c. Ready to make cake and ice cream mixes 16 d. Ready to eat sweets 27 e. Soups 41 a.pickles 18 8 Food adjuncts b. Papads (Indian lentil snack) 14 c. Chutneys 6 d. Ketchups and sauces 49 a. Namkeens & savories (Snack Foods) Snacks b. Chips 32 c. Popcorn Baby foods d. Cereal and milk based baby foods 14 TOTAL 1020

6 TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES Phases Parameter Method Phase I Frequency and amount of Interview Method using Semistructured Questionnaire processed food Consumer Survey consumption Phase II Processed Food Purchase from the Market Phase III Fat and trans fat analysis of selected processed foods Examination of processed packaged food labels Ingredients List and NFP Total fat Trans fat Standardized Proforma AOAC Triglyceride Internal Standard: Triundecanoic Acid Standard Solution: 37- FAME Mix (Sigma) Control Food Sample: Ghee sample GC Column: SP 2560 (100 m X 0.25 mm with 0.20 m film

7 The study was granted ethical clearance by the Departmental Medical Ethical Committee, Dept. of Foods and Nutrition, The M.S. University of Baroda (Ethical Clearance number: F.C.Sc/FND/ME/50 dated: 30 th September 2010)

8 Figure 1: Reporting of Total Fat on NFP in various Food Groups (in percentages) Percentage Products Of the 1,020 food products, 97.8% of the products reported total fat on NFP Food Groups

9 Figure 2: Commonly listed alternative names of the Fat in Ingredients list Hydrogenated Oils Cocoa Butter Fat Powder Ghee White Butter Shortening Margarine Butter Edible Vegetable oil Cream

10 Figure 3: Sources of Trans Fatty Acids (TFAs) in Ingredients List and their Substantiation by NFP in Various Food Groups (in percentage) Percentage in the ingredients list Sources of TFA in Ingredients list Of those having fat sources (n=627), 19.6% (n=200) had trans Substantiation by NFP Of the 1,020 products, 61% of the products had fat sources fat sources in ingredients list with various alternative names Of the 200 products that had trans fat sources in ingredients list, only 42% (n=84) substantiated the presence of trans fat by NFP suggesting poor substantiation of trans fat content in food products Food Groups

11 Figure 4:Processed Packaged Foods High in Total Fat ( 35% of the Total Energy from Fat) as per USFDA Criteria in Various Food Groups (in percentage) Percentage ,9 10,0 8,4 3,6 3,5 1,4 1,3 0,4 0,2 0,0 Food Groups

12 Figure 5: Low, Medium or High content of Total Fat as per UK-FSA Criteria in Total Products (in percentage) Of the 1,020 products, 97.8% reported total fat content on NFP High-30% Low-31% Medium-39% Low ( 3 g/100g) Medium (>3.0 to 20 g/100g) High (>20 g/100g)

13 Table 2: Low, Medium or High content of Total Fat as per UK-FSA Criteria in various Food Groups (in percentage) Food Groups High Medium Low Wheat and oats based products Bakery Products Confectionery Fruit based products Milk Based Drinks Ready-to cook/eat products Food adjuncts Snacks Baby Foods

14 Figure 6: Listing of More Than One Source of Fat" in Ingredients List in Various Food Groups (in percentage) Percentage Products 4,0 3,5 3,0 2,5 2,0 1,5 1,0 0,5 0,0 4,0 3,7 1,6 1,0 0,4 0,3 0,2 0,1 0,0 0,0 Food Groups

15 Table 3: Over-reporting, Under-reporting and Mean Total Fat Content of Selected Processed Packaged Foods in Various Food Categories Food categories No. of products Overreporting Underreporting Reported (g/100g) Analyzed (g/100g) t-value % (n) % (n) % (n) Mean±SD Mean±SD Cornflakes, oats and muesli 12(12) 12(12) ± ± ** Noodles, pasta and macaroni 14(14) 13(13) ± ± * Salty Biscuits 2(2) 2(2) ± ±1.88 _ Sweet biscuits 14(14) 14(14) ± ± *** Sweet cream wafers 1(1) 1(1) _ Chocolates 10(10) 10(10) ± ± ** Cakes 1(1) 1(1) _ Canned fruits 1(1) _ Jam, marmalades and jellies 2(2) _ Butter and cheese 1(1) 1(1) _ Spreads and dips 2(2) 2(2) ± ±28.27 _ Malted beverages 3(3) 3(3) 0 5± ± Soft drinks 1(1) _ Juices 1(1) _ Ready to cook foods 2(2) 2(2) 0 6.8± ±1.02 _ Ready-to-use spice mixes 3(3) 3(3) ± ± * Ready to eat sweets 1(1) 1(1) _ Soups 6(6) 6(6) ± ± Pickles 1(1) _ Ketchups and sauces 2(2) _ Savory Snacks 11(11) 11(11) ± ± *** Chips 5(5) 5(5) ± ± ** Popcorn 1(1) 1(1) _ Cereal and milk based baby foods 2(2) 2(2) 0 9±0 1.08±0.47 _

16 Table 4: Mean TFA Content of Selected Processed Packaged Foods in Various Food Categories Food categories Reported Analyzed No. of products (g/100g) (g/100g) t-value % (n) Mean±SD Mean±SD Cornflakes, oats and muesli 16(7) ± Noodles, pasta and macaroni 7(3) ± Salty Biscuits 2(1) 0 0 _ Sweet biscuits 14(6) 0.333± ± Cakes 2(1) _ Canned fruits 2(1) 0 0 _ Jam, marmalades and jellies 2(1) 0 0 _ Butter and Cheese 2(1) _ Spreads and dips 5(2) ±1.980 _ Malted beverages 2(1) 0 0 _ Ready to cook foods 5(2) 0.300± ±0.030 _ Ready to eat sweets 2(1) _ Soups 5(2) ±0.005 _ Papads 2(1) 0 0 _ Namkeens and savories (Snack foods) 23(10) ± Chips 7(3) ± Popcorn 2(1) 0 0 _

17 Table 5: Food Products Not Reporting TFA Values in various Food Categories Food Categories Not Reported % (n) Analyzed Mean (g/100g of food) Analyzed Range (g/100g of food) Cornflakes, oats and muesli 9 (5) 0.01± to 0.06 Noodles, pasta and macaroni 19(11) 0.13± to 1.11 Salty Biscuits 2(1) 0.00 _ Sweet Cream Wafers 16(9) 0.00 _ Chocolates 18(10) 0.37± to 3.71 Jam, marmalades and jellies 2(1) 0.00 _ Soft Drinks 2(1) 0.00 _ Malted beverages 4(2) 0.00 _ Juices 2(1) 0.00 _ Soups 7(4) 0.23± to 0.54 Ready-to-use spice mixes 5(3) 0.00 _ Ketchups and sauces 4(2) 0.00 _ Pickles 4(2) 0.00 _ Chips 4(2) 0.12± to 0.24 Namkeens and savories (Snack Foods) 2(1) 0.00 _ Cereal and milk based baby foods 4(2) 0.04± to 0.07

18 Table 6: Most Commonly found Fatty Acids in Analyzed Processed Packaged Foods and their Fat/Oil Sources Source: FAO, 2010; Sanders, 2003 and Agarwal et. al, 2003 Fatty Acids N N% Mean (%g of total fat) Range (%g of total fat) Fat/Oil Source* SFA Palmitic Acid Palm Oil and Animal Fats (sanders), Cottonseed oil Arachidic Acid Peanut Oil Stearic Acid Cocoa butter, hydrogenated fats, Cottonseed oil Capric Acid Dairy Fat, Coconut and Palm Kernel Oils Butyric Acid Dairy Fat Myristic Acid Dairy Fat, Coconut Oil, Palm Kernel Oil Caproic Acid Dairy Fat Caprylic Acid Dairy Fat, Coconut and Palm Kernel Oils Behenic Acid Peanut Oil MUFA Olive oil, sunflower and safflower oil,rapeseed oil, palm oil, Oleic Acid Cottonseed oil Erucic Acid Mustard oil, Rapeseed oil PUFA Linoleic Acid Safflower, sunflower, corn oil, soyabean oil Linolenic Acid Flaxseed, Soyabean TFA Elaidic Acid Partially hydrogenated fats

19 Table 7: Mean Fatty Acid (%g of total fat) Composition of Analyzed Processed Packaged Foods in Various Food Categories (Red: First Highest Mean, Yellow: Second Highest Mean, Green: Third Highest Mean) Cereal and milk based baby foods Cornflakes, oats and muesli Noodles, pasta and macaroni Salty biscuits Sweet biscuits Sweet cream wafers Cakes Chips Namkeens and savories Popcorn Malted beverages Ready-to-cook foods Ready-to-eat sweets Soups Ready-to-use spice mixes Butter and cheese Spreads and dips Chocolates Pickles Papads Fatty Acids Palmitic acid Arachidic acid Stearic acid Lauric acid Butyric acid Caproic acid Oleic acid Erucic acid Linoleic acid Linoleinic acid Elaidic acid Linolelaidic acid

20 RESULT HIGHLIGHTS Food Safety and Standards Act of India (FSSAI) regulations mandate reporting of fat on NFP but only 97.8% of the products complied with the same Majority of the food groups declared the source of fat in ingredients list as edible vegetable oil. Of the total products containing fat sources (61%, n=627), 19.6% (n=200) had trans fat sources in ingredients list with various alternative names and of these only 42% (n=84) substantiated it by NFP Fried chips reported a higher mean fat content (31.7 ±0 g/100g) than the baked chips (15.4±1.1 g/100g) on the label The analyzed fat content was found to be lower for fried (9.3 ±8.4g/100g) and baked chips (8.95±3.4g/100g) than that reported on label Reported TFA content in products ranged from 0 to 2.7 g/100g while the analyzed values ranged from 0 to 17.2 g/100g.

21 RESULT HIGHLIGHTS Elaidic Acid (23.8% of products) and Linolelaidic Acid (18.1% of products) were chief TFA in analyzed products Cereal and milk based baby foods and cornflakes oats and muesli were found to be high in linolelaidic acid (914.5 %g and 175.7%g of total fat respectively) The ingredients list on labels of cereal and milk based baby foods mentioned corn oil as the source of fat. High fat content was found in 13% of the snacks, followed by bakery products (6.4%), ready-to-cook/eat products (4.1%), milk based products (3.2%), confectionery (2.9%), wheat and oats based products (0.2%), drinks (0.2%), baby foods (0.1%) and none in food adjuncts. Products in the present study that did not report total fat content on NFP were pickle and papad, however when analyzed it was found that pickle contained 7.1g/100g and papad had 0.2 g/100g of total fat in per 100 g of food

22 CONCLUSION Disparities in reported and analyzed total fat and trans fat content need to be taken care of to curb the incidence of CVD Due to the incomplete and non-specific declaration of fat source in processed packaged food products, there is lack of clarity in information conveyed to the consumer which is a matter of public health concern Processed foods contained fatty acids which are derived from palm oil, hydrogenated fat, dairy fat, animal fat and they may have adverse health outcomes.

23 RECOMMENDATIONS Listing of specific source of fat in ingredients list should be made mandatory Provisions should be made to indicate foods as high, medium or low in fat content in order to help consumers in making healthy food choices There is a need to promote healthy processing of foods

24 REFERENCES Monteiro C, Levy RB, Claro RM, Castro I and Cannon G (2011). Increasing consumption of ultraprocessed foods and likely impact on human health: Evidence from Brazil. Public Health Nutr, 14(1):5-13 United Kingdom-Food Standards Agency (UK-FSA) (2007). Front of pack nutritional signpost labelling technical guide, Issue 1. (Source: 13_6051.pdf) Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) (2010). Fats and fatty acids in human nutrition. Report of an expert consultation. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper November 2008, Geneva Sanders T and Emery P (2003). Molecular Basis of Human Nutrition. Taylor and Francis Inc, New York (ISBN ) Agarwal DK, Singh P, Chakrabarty M, Shaikh AJ and Gayal SG (2003). Cottonseed oil quality utilization and processing. Central Institute for Cotton Research Nagpur (Source:

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