High trans fatty acid content in common Indian fast foods

Abstract

PurposeTrans fatty acids (TFA) are deleterious to health and can lead to multiple diseases. The purpose of this paper is to study their content in Indian sweets and snacks (fast foods).Design/methodology/approachThe paper used the food composition and analysis tables of the Indian National Institute of Nutrition to determine fatty acid composition of common nutrients. Separate tables provide nutrient composition of various Indian sweets and snacks including methods of preparation and amount of ingredients used. The paper calculated detailed nutritive value of these fast foods with focus on fatty acid composition using these tables. The nutritive values of more than 200 Indian sweets and snacks were determined and are presented.FindingsThe study shows that Indian sweets and snacks are very energy‐dense with calorie content varying from 136 to 494 kcal/100 g in sweets and 148‐603 kcal/100 g in snacks. TFA content of sweets varies from 0.3 to 17.7 g/100 g and snacks from 0.1 to 19.8 g/100 g. This translates into 1.9‐53.0 fat energy per cent in sweets and 1.8‐52.0 fat energy per cent in snacks.Research limitations/implicationsThe study consists of analysis of secondary data obtained from raw ingredients. Many chemical changes occur during cooking and were not estimated.Originality/valueHigh dietary intake of TFA leads to cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and many chronic diseases. This is possibly the largest attempt to determine TFA content of commonly used fast‐foods in India and shows that some of the traditional Indian sweets and snacks have high levels.

The effectiveness of policies for reducing dietary trans fat: a systematic review of the evidence

“…However, many large fast-food companies do provide information on the TFA content of their foods, either in store or on their web sites. Moreover, in many lowand middle-income countries, the main source of TFAs is food purchased from street vendors and the unorganised food sector rather than pre-packaged food, 2,40,41 which may further limit the effectiveness of labelling regulation.…”

Assessment of Trans Fatty Acid Content in Widely Consumed Snacks by Gas Chromatography in a Developing Country

“…The Indian National Sample Survey Organization, India shows that consumption of beverages, biscuits, processed foods, salted snacks, prepared sweets and other purchased foods ranged from 100 -427 gm/ capita/day. Major dietary sources of TFA in India are deep fried fast foods such as samosas, baked products, packed snack foods, margarines and crackers [4,5]. The deep fried foods, unlike packaged snacks which display their nutritive value on packets, are commonly sold by vendors and difficult to be brought under regulations.…”

“…which are consumed widely. High TFA content (1.9% -53%) has been reported in Indian sweets and savories/snacks by Agrawal et al [5]. The authors derived the amount of TFA by calculating nutritive values of raw material such as oil and fats used in recipes, which is secondary in nature.…”

Preparation and Application of Trans-free Vanaspati Substitute in Selected Indian Traditional Foods

“…It was reported that TFA content of sweets varies from 0.3 − 17.7% and snacks from 0.1 − 19.8%, which translates into 1.9 − 5.3 fat energy % in sweets and 1.8 − 5.2 fat energy % in snacks (Agrawal et al, 2008). It was reported that six of ten types of chips examined contained more than 10% trans C18: 1 (in the range of 10.3 to 17.3% of the total fatty acid) and the other four had below 0.5%.…”