Joint Centre for Food Safety (CFS) / Consumer Council (CC) Study
Nutrition Labelling Series Article 4
Nutrient Content of Crispy Chips
Introduction
1. The fourth article of Joint CFS/CC Nutrition Labelling Series examines nutrition labels of different chips products for comparing their nutrient contents, especially the amounts of total fat and sodium .
The Study
2. Between March and early June 2010, CFS and CC collected 32 types of chips samples, including 17 potato chips, 5 tortilla chips/corn snacks, 4 cheese flavoured balls/rings and 6 prawns chips/crackers, from supermarkets and grocery shops. Nutrition information on the labels was examined.
3. CFS tabulated the nutrient information listed on the nutrition labels of the relevant products and converted them to a per-100 gram food basis. According to the shopping guide cards (or "shopping cards") produced by the CFS, which make reference to overseas guidelines, prepackaged foods with more than 20g of total fat and 600mg of sodium per 100g of food are considered high fat and high sodium, respectively.
4. Main findings of the study are summarised below (Please also refer to Table 1) :
- 90% of the samples were high in fat, with a range between 0.4g to 41.6g of fat per 100g of chips. For the sample with the highest fat content, consuming the whole 60g-pack, which contained 25g of fat (~1 2/ 3 tablespoon of oil), would account for some 40% of the daily intake limit of total fat (with reference to a 2,000 kcal diet).
- Most chips are subject to the deep-fried process; thus they are high in fat and high in energy generally. The energy values of samples ranged between 378kcal and 582kcal per 100g of chips. About 85% of the samples contained 500kcal plus energy. Consuming 100g of these chips would account for at least 25% of energy in a 2,000kcal diet.
- Most nutrition labels showed that the products contained zero gram of trans fat. However, the trans fat content of one sample was high up to 11g per 100g of chips. Intake of one suggested serving (28g) would consumed 3g of trans fat, which is more than the 2.2g daily intake limit (with reference to a 2,000 kcal diet).
- Half of the samples were high in sodium, with a range between 18mg to 1,800mg of sodium per 100g of chips. For the sample with the highest sodium content, consuming the whole 36g-pack, which contained 648mg of sodium, would account for some 30% of the daily intake limit of sodium.
Table 1: Summary of Main Results
Advice to the Public
5. The Nutrition Labelling Scheme comes into force on 1 July 2010 ; consumers can select products with "low sodium" claim in order to consume less sodium. Wordings like "Unsalted" or "No Salt Added" found on the packing are of reference only. Consumers shall refer to the nutrition label for the sodium content.
6. Chips are in general high in fat and sodium. Consumers shall refer to the nutrition label when making purchase and consume these products sparingly.
7. The CFS has produced a daily nutrient intake guide with reference to a 2,000-kcal diet. Consumers can make use of this guide to help assess their nutrient intakes.
8. Other than chips, consumers can munch dried fruits with no added sugars or non-fried plain nuts as alternatives.
More Information
9. The related article is also published in the CHOICE MAGAZINE (Issue 404 released o n 15 June 2010 ) (Chinese only).
Centre for Food Safety
Food and Environmental Hygiene Department
June 2010