Reformulation and Priorities for Reducing Energy Density; Results from a Cross-Sectional Survey on Fat Content in Pre-Packed Cakes and Biscuits Sold in British Supermarkets

Abstract

Cakes and biscuits contribute to energy, total and saturated fat and sugar in British diets. So far, the UK government has prompted manufacturers to reduce energy density in these products through a reduction of their sugar content. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of the fat content of cakes and biscuits available in nine UK supermarket chains. In cakes (n = 381), the mean total fat content was 17.9 ± 5.2 g/100 g (39% of the overall energy); range (1.4–35.6 g/100 g) and the average saturated fat content in cakes was 5.9 ± 3.4 g/100 g (13% of the overall energy); range (0.3–20 g/100 g). In biscuits (n = 481), the mean total fat content was 21.8 g ± 6.3 g/100 g (40% of the overall energy); range (0.7–38.9 g/100 g) and the average saturated fat content was 11.4 ± 4.9 g/100 g (23% of the overall energy); range (0.3–22.3 g/100 g). In both cakes and biscuits, total and saturated fat content was positively correlated with energy density. Our results show that cakes and biscuits sold in UK supermarkets are high in total and saturated fat, and that fat content contributes substantially to product energy density. Fat reformulation in these products would effectively reduce energy density, calorie intake and help prevent obesity. Fat reformulation should be implemented simultaneously with sugar reformulation and be focused on saturated fat, as this will have the additional effect of lowering LDL cholesterol.

Energy Density of New Food Products Targeted to Children

“…While it is important to encourage children to meet dietary recommendations and energy needs through healthful food intake and limited intake of high ED, nutrient-poor foods, additional strategies targeting the retail food market have the potential to assist in moderating children's dietary energy density and energy intake. For example, a recent study showed that total and saturated fat reformulation of some UK supermarket bakery items (cakes and biscuits) could result in substantial reductions in product energy density [36]. In the present study, a large proportion (18%) of the products that entered the retail food market during the four years of interest were bakery items, suggesting a large segment of the market that could also be reformulated in Australia.…”

Potential impact of gradual reduction of fat content in manufactured and out-of-home food on obesity in the United Kingdom: a modeling study

“…Conversely, for most food categories included, a more ambitious fat reduction could be possible, producing further benefits on the population health. Our previous survey on cakes and cookies showed that within each category (e.g., chocolate cake), fat content variation was >30%, thus demonstrating that reformulation by gradually reducing fat content is feasible for the food industry and acceptable for consumers ( 9 ). Further evidence supporting the feasibility of our proposed reformulation strategy comes from the United Kingdom's successful salt reduction program.…”

“…In this study, we modeled a 4% fat reduction to achieve a 20% reduction in 5 years; however, manufacturers could decide to achieve the 20% target all at once. We chose the 20% fat reduction target because evidence shows that this can be easily implemented ( 9 , 42 ); however, there is no reason why further reductions in fat content could not be made in several energy-dense product categories. We recommend that manufacturers should lower energy density by reducing fat and by replacing this with health-promoting ingredients such as vegetables, fruit, pulses, or whole grain, which are high in dietary fiber and water and are low in energy.…”

“…Most of the world population has progressively changed its dietary habits by cooking less, eating out more often, and relying more on products that require minimal or no preparation ( 4 – 6 ). Evidence shows that eating out is associated with higher energy intake, and that—when assessed through the nutrient profiling model used by the UK government—manufactured and out-of-home products have excessive amounts of total fat and SFA, have high energy density (i.e., amount of kilocalories for 100 g of product), and are low in dietary fiber ( 7 – 9 ).…”

Taxing confectionery, biscuits, and cakes to control obesity

“…In addition, food products were aggregated into categories—for example, biscuits included cereal bars. Although the foods aggregated are mostly high in sugar, saturated fat, and energy,12 they are nonetheless nutritionally heterogeneous.…”