Annex V: Nutrient Contents of Indigenous Congee, Rice and Noodle Dishes (per unit)

The report presents the nutrient content information of 110 local food items, including congee, rice, noodle dishes and sauces. Laboratory analyses for energy and nine nutrients of local public health interest were conducted by the Food Research Laboratory of FEHD.

The results showed that most of them contained carbohydrate as the main source of energy. It was found that the calcium content of these foods were generally low, whilst their sodium content was on the high side.

A balanced diet can be achieved by choosing food carefully while having indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes. Members of the public are recommended to consume suitable amount of food according to their needs; choose the foods with adequate amount of vegetables; use low-fat cooking methods; minimize intake of sauces; and choose steamed rice instead of fried rice for meal set with rice for patrons who want to cut down energy and fat intake. Patrons frequently consuming these foods are also advised to have one to two servings of low-fat/skimmed dairy products and adequate fruits for the rest of the day to ensure adequate intake of calcium and other important nutrients.

Food trade is advised to modify the recipes of indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes to increase dietary fibre and reduce sodium and fat contents of fried noodles; serve sauces separately for meal sets with rice; and provide more food items with high dietary fibre and calcium contents such as fruits and calcium fortified soy milk in the menu.

This study aims to determine the nutrient values of the common indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes in Hong Kong.

3. Information on nutrient composition of foods is important for the public to make healthy food choices. To establish a database of nutrient composition of local food items for public access, the Food Research Laboratory (FRL) of the Department has been conducting nutrient analysis of indigenous foods since 2002. Previous studies on the nutrient values of local indigenous breakfast foods and Chinese dim sum were completed and released in January 2004 and April 2005, respectively.

4. Congee, rice and noodles are the main staple foods of the local population, and the meal sets with these foods are common food choices among the working population. However, no systematic nutrient analysis of the indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes has been conducted locally. To determine the nutrient content of indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes and facilitate the public making healthier food choices, FEHD initiated a study on the nutrient composition of these foods.

Indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes

5. Indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes generally refer to all dishes with congee, rice and cereal-based noodles as the staple foods. In this report, the indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes referred to the local-style composite dishes with congee, rice and noodles available in local food premises such as tea restaurants (茶餐廳), fast food shops, Chinese restaurants (中式酒樓), Chinese noodle stalls (中式粉麵店) and Chinese congee stalls (中式粥店).

6. Eating out for lunch is very common in the local working population, and congee, rice and noodles are common food choices. The Public Opinion Programme of the University of Hong Kong conducted a survey entitled "The Changing Eating Habits of White-collar Workers" in 2003, and they interviewed 511 white collar workers aged 18-49 by telephone¹. In this survey, about 65% of the respondents reported usually eating out for lunch. For those who were eating out for lunch, 72% of them reported having their lunch in local tea restaurants (茶餐廳) and fast food stores, which commonly sold indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes.

7. The nutrient values of the indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes vary greatly, depending on the types and amount of food ingredients, as well as the cooking methods used in food preparation.

Nutrition and noncommunicable diseases

8. In the World Health Report 2002,² it indicated that mortality, morbidity and disability attributed to major noncommmunicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for about 60% of deaths and 47% of the global burden of disease at that time, and the figures were expected to rise to 73% and 60%, respectively.


9. Nutrition is one of the major lifestyle risk factors related to development of NCDs. Unhealthy diets, together with physical inactivity, are among the leading causes of NCDs, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, and contribute substantially to the global burden of disease, death and disability.2 As part of the recommendation for prevention of chronic diseases, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) proposed a set of population nutrient intakes ^3,4 to enhance health (Annex I).

10. Hong Kong, as one of the fast-growing economies, also experiences an increasing burden of NCDs. Diet-related diseases such as cancer, coronary heart diseases, cerebrovascular disease and type 2 diabetes attributed about 60% of deaths in 2003.⁵ For patients with heart diseases, strokes, diabetes, renal and liver diseases, dietary management is also one of the key elements of disease management and for prevention of complications. Among all nutrients, avoiding excessive dietary intakes of energy, saturated fat, cholesterol, sugars and sodium, as well as increasing the intake of dietary fibre and calcium, are most relevant to the prevention and management of these diet-related diseases.

11. This study mainly covered common indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes sold in Chinese restaurants. With reference to menus collected from local food premises, ninety-five food items were sampled for chemical nutrient analysis, including indigenous congee, rice, noodle dishes, and sauces for "siu-mei" rice dishes. Together with 15 related items analyzed in previous studies, this study presents the nutrient analyses results of 110 food items (Annex II). Chemical analyses were conducted to determine the content of energy and nine nutrients, namely total carbohydrate, protein, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, dietary fibre, sugars, sodium and calcium.

Sampling Plan

12. The food samples were purchased and analyzed from March 2004 to July 2005. For each food item, 10 food samples were randomly purchased from food outlets in 10 different districts that were randomly selected from the 18 districts in Hong Kong. All samples were purchased in the ready-to-serve form for determining the nutrient contents.

Laboratory Analysis

13. The laboratory testing work was conducted by the Food Research Laboratory of FEHD. For each food sample, the edible portion was obtained and homogenized. Appropriate test portions were taken for determining the nutrient profile by chemical analyses. All tests were conducted using single-laboratory validated methods based on international standards. A brief description of the test methods was shown in Annex III.

Data Analysis

14. The nutrient data of food items was presented in both per 100g and per unit basis. For each nutrient, the mean value was reported and corrected to 2 significant figures. If the level of a nutrient was too low for reliable reporting, the term "trace" was indicated (refer to Annex III for details). The term "not determined (ND)" referred to cases where by nature of the food item, testing for the nutrient parameter was not appropriate and/or the nutrient was considered not generally present at a significant level.

15. In this study, nutrient contents of 107 indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes and 3 sauces for siu-mei were examined. The mean values of energy, total carbohydrate, total fat, protein, saturated fat, cholesterol, sugar, dietary fibre, calcium and sodium of the samples in per 100 g and per unit basis are presented in Annex IV and V, respectively.

16. The nutrient contents of the indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes varied depending on the food ingredients and cooking methods, but generally most of them were low in calcium and high in sodium. The mean calcium content of all sampled congee, rice and noodle dishes was 91 mg/unit, which was less than 10% of the FAO/WHO recommended daily intake of calcium, i.e.1000 mg/day. The mean sodium content was about 2200 mg, which exceeded the FAO/WHO recommended daily intake for sodium. The nutrient contents of different types of indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes were shown in Table 1.

Congee dishes

17. In general, the energy content of congee dishes was low compared with other rice and noodle dishes. The mean energy value of the five congee dishes was 260 kcal/unit. The mean energy of congee dishes from total carbohydrate, protein and fat were 41%, 21% and 38%, respectively. The mean sodium and dietary fibre contents of congee were 1100 mg/unit and 1.4 g/unit, respectively (Table 1).

18. The dietary fibre content of congee dishes was low, probably due to its low vegetable content. The mean cholesterol content of congee dishes was 110 mg/unit, but the cholesterol contents of congee with preserved egg and pork (皮蛋瘦肉粥) (200 mg/unit) and congee with pig giblet (及弟粥) (260 mg/unit) were high among the congee dishes. The high cholesterol content of these congee dishes was probably due to the presence of high-cholesterol ingredients such as preserved egg and offals.

Table 1 Mean nutrient contents of the different types of indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes (per unit)

Noodles-in-soup dishes

19. The mean energy content of the forty-five noodles-in-soup dishes analysed was 470 kcal/unit, and only 23% of energy came from fat. In general, the cholesterol and saturated fat contents of noodles-in-soup dishes were low. The mean cholesterol level of noodles-in soup dishes was 64 mg/unit and approximately 7% of the energy came from saturated fat. However, some ingredients of noodles-in-soups dishes such as those with instant noodles, beef brisket, cattle offal were high in saturated fat. Noodles-in-soups dishes with egg and offal were also high in cholesterol. The mean sodium and dietary fibre content of noodles-in-soup dishes were 2400 mg/unit and 3 g/unit.

20. Since the soups of the noodles-in-soup dishes are probably made from ingredients high in sodium such as MSG, table salt, and salty meat, consumption of the noodles-in-soup dishes with soup will increase the risk of having excessive intake of sodium, which may lead to the elevation of blood pressure and other adverse effects on the cardiovascular system.

Comparing nutrient contents of noodles-in-soup dishes with different types of noodles
21. The mean nutrient contents of noodles-in-soup dishes with different types of noodles were shown in Table 2. As expected, the energy content, percentage energy from total fat and saturated fat, and the cholesterol content of noodles-in-soup dishes with instant noodles were the highest among the five types of noodles sampled for analysis. It might due to the deep-frying procedures with high-saturated fat cooking oil in the manufacturing process of instant noodles.

22. Comparing the nutrient content of three types of Chinese-style noodles-in-soup dishes (in per unit basis), i.e. wheat noodles (thick and thin), rice vermicelli and rice noodles, the energy contents and percentage energy from total carbohydrate of the noodles-in-soup dishes with rice vermicelli and rice noodles were higher than those with wheat noodles (thick and thin). The total carbohydrate contents of the noodles-in-soup dishes with rice vermicelli and rice noodles (in per 100 g basis) were also higher than those with wheat noodles (thick and thin).

Table 2 Mean nutrient contents of the different types of noodle dishes (per unit)

23. The sodium contents of noodles-in-soup dishes with wheat noodles (thick and thin) were higher than other types of noodles. It might be due to the difference in sodium content in noodles and/or the difference of noodles in absorbing sodium or high-sodium condiments.

Rice-in-soup dishes

24. The mean energy content of the two rice-in-soup dishes items was 540 kcal/unit, and the energy of rice-in-soup dishes from total carbohydrate, protein and fat were 65%, 20% and 15%, respectively. The sodium content of rice-in-soup dishes were 1700 mg/unit, and only trace amount of dietary fibre was detected in these samples. Although they lacked dietary fibre and high in sodium, total fat content of rice-in-soup dishes was low.

Meal sets with rice dishes

25. The mean energy content of meal sets with rice dishes was 970 kcal/unit. On average, the energy of them from the total carbohydrate, protein and total fat were 55%, 16% and 29%, respectively. Again, the energy contents of the meal sets with rice dishes indicated that the average portion size was large for one person, when reference was made to an adult requiring 2000 kcal energy per day.

26. The dietary fibre content of these foods varied, but the mean dietary fibre content of these foods was 2.6 g/unit, which was on the low side. The mean sodium content of the meal sets with rice dishes was 1600 mg/unit, which is over 80% of the FAO/WHO's recommended daily intake.

Steamed rice versus fried rice dishes

27. The nutrient content of the steamed rice with stir-fried tomato and sliced beef (蕃茄牛肉, 配白飯) and the fried rice with stir-fried tomato and sliced beef (蕃茄牛肉, 配炒飯) was shown in Table 3.

28. The result illustrated that the fried rice with stir-fried tomato and sliced beef was higher in energy, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium when compared with that with steamed rice, which might be due to the use of cooking oil, egg yolk and high-sodium condiments.

Table 3 Nutrient contents of the stir-fried tomato and sliced beef with steamed rice and fried rice dishes

The effects of sauces on the nutrient content of steamed rice with "sui-mei" (燒味)
29. The siu-mei sauce (燒味汁), plum sauce (酸梅醬) and ginger puree (薑蓉) were commonly consumed with siu-mei products. In this study, the nutrient content of these sauces were analysed. The nutrient contents of the sauces for the steamed rice with siu-mei were shown in Table 4.

Table 4 Nutrient contents of the sauces for steamed rice with "siu-mei"

30. The addition of these sauces mainly affected the sodium content of the steamed rice with siu-mei dishes. Each tablespoon of siu-mei sauce contained 290 mg sodium. The sodium content of each tablespoon of plum sauce and ginger puree were 320 mg and 360 mg, respectively. For instance, the addition of 3 tablespoon of siu-mei sauce and 1 tablespoon of plum sauces to the steamed rice with roasted goose (燒鵝飯) would give extra 1200 mg of sodium.

31. Moreover, each tablespoon of ginger puree contained 9 g total fat and 86 kcal energy. The addition of one tablespoon of ginger puree to the steamed rice with steamed plain chicken or steamed soy sauce chicken (白切雞/豉油雞飯) would give extra 9 g of fat. With the addition of 1 tablespoon of ginger puree, the energy of the steamed rice with steamed plain chicken from fat would be increased from 29% to 34%, and that of the steamed rice with steamed soy sauce chicken would be increased from 28% to 35%.

Fried noodle dishes

32. Compared with noodles-in-soup dishes, fried noodle dishes generally provided more energy and fat. The mean energy content of fried noodle dishes was 1100 kcal/unit. On average, the percentage energy of fried noodles from total carbohydrate, protein and total fat were 45%, 14% and 41%, respectively. The mean cholesterol, sodium and dietary fibre contents of fried noodle items were 120 mg/unit, 2500 mg/unit and 12 g/unit, respectively.

33. The energy content of fried noodle dishes indicated that the portion size of some fried noodle dishes might be too large for one person. With reference to an adult requiring 2000 kcal per day, on average per unit of fried noodle item provided more than half of the energy requirement. The percentage energy of total fat content of fried noodle dishes was the highest among the types of foods analysed in this study. In general, a substantial amount of cooking oil would be added to the fried noodle dishes during cooking. Furthermore, some types of noodles such as E-Fu noodles (伊麵), instant noodles and deep-fried noodles, were deep-fried in the manufacturing process, thus resulting in high total fat content.

34. Except one, the sodium content of all fried noodle dishes exceeded 2000 mg, which was the daily intake of sodium recommended by FAO/WHO. It reflected that the use of high-sodium condiments such as salt and monosodiumglutamate (MSG) was quite common and large amount of such condiments might be used in the fried noodle dishes cooking process.

35. Though most of the fried noodle dishes were low in cholesterol, the cholesterol content of some fried noodle dishes such as fried noodles with preserved black bean, assorted pepper and squid (豉椒魷魚炒麵) and fried noodles with preserved vegetable and squid (味菜魷魚炒麵) exceeded FAO/WHO's population intake goal for cholesterol (300 mg/day) (Annex I). It might be due to the use of high-cholesterol ingredients such as squid and animal fat during cooking.

Fried rice dishes

36. On average, fried rice dishes provided 1300 kcal/unit, and the energy of fried rice dishes from total carbohydrate, protein and fat were 54%, 14% and 32% respectively. With reference to an adult requiring 2000 kcal energy per day, it seemed that the portion size of fried rice items might be too large for one person.

37. The mean cholesterol and sodium content of fried rice dishes were 350 mg/unit and 2200 mg/unit, which exceeded the FAO/WHO recommendations on the daily intake of these two nutrients (cholesterol: less than 300 mg per day; sodium: less than 2000 mg per day). Among the eleven fried rice dishes analysed, the cholesterol content of seven dishes (64%) and the sodium content of nine dishes (82%) exceeded the FAO/WHO recommendations. It might be due to the high-cholesterol ingredients such as egg yolk and high-sodium condiments such as salt and MSG.

38. The nutrient profile of fried rice with egg white and dried scallop (瑤柱蛋白炒飯) was a bit different from other fried rice dishes. Its total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol contents were lower than other fried rice dishes. However, its sodium content was still high (2100 mg/unit).

Limitations of the study

39. The nutritional risks associated with the consumption of indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes were evaluated in this study. Owing to the lack of comprehensive food consumption data in Hong Kong, the nutrient intake of the whole population and population subgroups from these sources could not be quantified, and the evaluation was based on the nutrient composition of these food items only.

40. In addition, there was variability in the composition of foods. The composition of processed foods varied due to variations in the composition of ingredients and changes in formulation. Indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes, being composite dishes, showed even greater variation in composition. Apart from the variations in the composition of ingredients and change in formulation, the recipe formulation and actual cooking method are the major sources of variation.6

41. This study provided data on the nutrient content of common indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes in Hong Kong. As mentioned before, congee, rice and noodle dishes are the main staples among Hong Kong people. Due to the busy lifestyle, many people in Hong Kong have to eat out at lunch and dinner. Congee, rice and noodle dishes, sold typically in local tea restaurants, Chinese restaurants, Chinese noodle stalls, Chinese congee stalls and fast food shops, are popular, economical, convenient and tasty choices to cater the basic nutrition needs of the majority of the work force, as well as other population subgroups which are unable to enjoy homemade food at times.

42. In terms of the nutrient content, these foods are the main contributors of energy and marco-nutrients (e.g. carbohydrates, protein and fat), in the diet of most Hong Kong people. The vast majority of the items we analysed had "carbohydrate" as the main source of energy, which rendered them consistent with one of the basic principles of healthy diet. However, most items contained high level of sodium and low level of calcium. As these minerals are known to play an important role in the control of blood pressure and maintenance of bone health, proper dietary measures need to be taken to offset these negative effects, especially for the frequent patrons.

43. Similar to other composite dishes, the nutrient content of indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes varied with the ingredients chosen, as well as the cooking methods. Though some of the foods contained low level of calcium, and high levels of sodium and fat, a balanced diet could still be achieved by choosing foods carefully and complementing the diet with other foods. Since the energy content of individual servings of foods varied greatly, patrons who consume meals alone might consider the energy content of foods and their own energy requirement while choosing foods, so as to avoid excessive intake of energy or food wastage. Overall, the keys to maintain a healthy diet are balancing the diet by choosing a wide variety of foods and spreading food consumption over the day.

Advice to consumers

44. From the nutritional point of view, there is no good or bad food. As the nutrient contents of various types of food vary, choosing different types of food in suitable amount is a simple way to get a wide range of essential nutrients, and thus avoid nutritional problems. People with particular nutrition concern should pay attention to the nutrient content of foods, while choosing or ordering foods. For instance, individuals who are advised to reduce sodium intake should choose foods with less sodium.

General advices on ordering indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes

45. Although some of the indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes were found to be high in total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, and low in calcium and dietary fibre, a reasonably balanced diet can still be achieved if careful food choices are made. To maintain a balanced diet, patrons having indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes are advised to -

(a.) Consume suitable amount of food according to your need and may consider sharing foods with friends and colleagues to avoid wastage;
(b.) Choose the foods with adequate amount of vegetables and cooked by low-fat cooking methods such as steaming, boiling and broiling;
(c.) Choose steamed rice instead of fried rice for the meal set with rice for patrons who want to cut down energy and fat intakes; and
(d.) Have 1 to 2 servings of low-fat skimmed dairy products, calcium-fortified soybean milk/orange jucie, and plenty of calcium-rich foods for the rest of the day to ensure adequate intake of calcium.

Advice for trade

46. As mentioned earlier, the energy content of many food items such as fried rice, fried noodles and meal sets with rice dishes analysed were excessive with reference to an adult requiring 2000 kcal per day, which implied that the portion sizes of these foods provided by the food premises were too large for one person in most cases. Members of trade were advised to provide foods with different portion sizes, maintaining same proportion of staple foods and other ingredients, to suit individual needs and minimize food wastage.

47. It is recommended that the owners of food premises should try to modify the recipes of congee, rice and noodle dishes to increase the dietary fibre level and lower the sodium level in foods. It can be achieved by providing more vegetables in the dishes, serving the sauces separately if possible, and reducing the use of high sodium condiments. Moreover, it is advisable to reduce the total fat content of fried noodle dishes by decreasing the amount of cooking oil used and trimming visible fat of meat.

48. For the meal set with rice, it is recommended to serve the rice and the sauces separately from other food ingredients to allow customers to decide the amount of sauces to be consumed with rice.

49. Members of trade may also consider providing more food items high in dietary fibre and calcium in the food premises. For example, sliced fruits and calcium-fortified soy milk would be two good choices.

Uploading the information onto the Department's website

50. Apart from this written report, the mean nutrient values (energy, available carbohydrate, protein, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sugars, dietary fibre, calcium and sodium) of per 100 g of the indigenous congee, rice and noodle dishes studied will also be uploaded onto the Nutrition Information Inquiry System (NIIS) of the Department's website for public access.

Reference for Annex I
1. FAO/WHO. Joint WHO/FAO Expert consultation on diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases. Geneva: WHO, 2003.
2. FAO/WHO. Human vitamin and mineral requirements. Report of a joint FAO/WHO expert consultation. Rome: FAO, 2001.