scholarly journals Reporting of trans-fat on labels of Brazilian food products

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 2146-2153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruna Maria Silveira ◽  
David Alejandro Gonzalez-Chica ◽  
Rossana Pacheco da Costa Proença

AbstractObjectiveThe present study investigated how trans-fat is reported on the packaging of foods sold in a Brazilian supermarket.DesignThe present descriptive, cross-sectional study analysed the ingredient list, nutrition facts label and claims of no trans-fat on the packaging.SettingA large supermarket in Florianópolis, Brazil.SubjectsAll food products available at the supermarket.ResultsOf the 2327 study products, more than half had components containing trans-fat in the ingredient list, especially hydrogenated vegetable fat and its alternative names. A small percentage of food products reported some trans-fat content on the nutrition facts label and roughly a quarter of the food products claimed to contain no trans-fat on the front of the packaging. There was very low agreement among the trans-fat content reported in the nutrition facts label, claims of no trans-fat made on the packaging and the ingredient list.ConclusionsThere was low agreement among the different ways of reporting trans-fat, suggesting that it is not possible to rely on the nutrition facts label or no trans-fat claims printed on the packaging of Brazilian food products. Hence, the Brazilian legislation on food labels needs to change to improve the reliability of food labels and to help control the trans-fat intake of the population.

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 1206-1214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Adriano Martins ◽  
Anete Araújo de Sousa ◽  
Marcela Boro Veiros ◽  
David Alejandro González-Chica ◽  
Rossana Pacheco da Costa Proença

AbstractObjectiveTo analyse the Na content and labelling of processed and ultra-processed food products marketed in Brazil.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingA large supermarket in Florianopolis, southern Brazil.SubjectsIngredient lists and Na information on nutrition labels of all processed and ultra-processed pre-prepared meals and prepared ingredients, used in lunch or dinner, available for sale in the supermarket.ResultsThe study analysed 1416 products, distributed into seven groups and forty-one subgroups. Five products did not have Na information. Most products (58·8 %; 95 % CI 55·4, 62·2 %) had high Na content (>600 mg/100 g). In 78·0 % of the subgroups, variation in Na content was at least twofold between similar products with high and low Na levels, reaching 634-fold difference in the ‘garnishes and others’ subgroup. More than half of the products (52·0 %; 95 % CI 48·2, 55·6 %) had at least one Na-containing food additive. There was no relationship between the appearance of salt on the ingredients list (first to third position on the list) and a product’s Na content (high, medium or low; P=0·08).ConclusionsMost food products had high Na content, with great variation between similar products, which presents new evidence for reformulation opportunities. There were inconsistencies in Na labelling, such as lack of nutritional information and incomplete ingredient descriptions. The position of salt on the ingredients list did not facilitate the identification of high-Na foods. We therefore recommend a reduction in Na in these products and a review of Brazilian legislation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 770-782
Author(s):  
Narmeen J. Al-Awwad ◽  
Hiba F. Al-Sayyed ◽  
Hamzah Safi ◽  
Salma M. Al-Bosta ◽  
Summer Al-Zawawi

Jordan has adapted a strategy to prevent chronic diseases. Accordingly, Ministry of Health is looking for controlling food labeling particularly food fat, trans-fat, and caloric content. This study aimed to screen the food label of products that are sold in Jordanian market in terms of serving size, energy, macronutrient, fiber, total and added sugars, saturated and trans fat, cholesterol, dietary fiber, and micronutrient contents. A cross-sectional study was performed to screen the food label for the food products based on the standards of The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations of 2016 and Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA). Generally, food labels were not clear. The screened products were compliant with JFDA standards and not in compliance with some FDA standards. In addition, many products were found to be sources of added sugars, Na, and saturated fats. Stakeholders and legislators are called to focus on developing new laws, regulations, and polices for developing food label. Food manufacturers are needed to work hardly on developing informative, clear, easy-to-understand, and attractive food labels. The legislators of food label policies are called to look for ways to indicate the presence of high amounts of dietary risk factors such as sugars, added sugars, Na, saturated, and trans fats in packaged foods.


2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (7) ◽  
pp. 1594-1609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Waleska Nishida ◽  
Ana Carolina Fernandes ◽  
Marcela Boro Veiros ◽  
David Alejandro González Chica ◽  
Rossana Pacheco da Costa Proença

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the sodium content displayed on the labels of conventional processed food products (C) and of those with nutrition claims suggesting the absence or reduced levels of nutrients (AR). Design/methodology/approach – Cross-sectional study analyzing the ingredients list, nutrition facts and nutrition claims on food labels. Subjects: all processed food products with added salt or additives containing sodium that were for sale in a large supermarket in Brazil from October to December 2011. Findings – All 3,449 products were analyzed and categorized into 66 groups according to Brazilian legislation. The median of sodium content in the AR was 42.7 percent higher than in the C (p=0.007). In 33.3 percent of the groups there was difference in sodium content between AR and C (p < 0.05) and in 68.2 percent of these the sodium content was higher in AR. The variation range of sodium in products from the same group reached 2,905.0 mg in C and 1,712.0 mg in AR. Even when the median of sodium was lower in the AR, the minimum sodium values were lower in the C. Originality/value – Comparisons of sodium content of conventional and AR processed food are scarce in the literature, especially covering all food for sale in a large supermarket. To the best of the knowledge, this is the first census making this comparisons in Latin America.


2002 ◽  
pp. 505-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Rolf ◽  
S von Eckardstein ◽  
U Koken ◽  
E Nieschlag

INTRODUCTION: In healthy men, body weight and total fat content increase with advancing age, while serum testosterone levels decrease. In order to elucidate whether a causal relationship between these phenomena exists, we investigated the influence of testosterone or human chorionic gonadotrophin substitution on body mass index (BMI), total fat mass and serum leptin in testosterone-treated and untreated hypogonadal patients in comparison with ageing eugonadal men. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, the inter-relationships of body weight, total fat mass, serum sex hormones and leptin were analysed in untreated hypogonadal men (n=24; age 19-65 years), treated hypogonadal men (n=61; age 20-67 years) and healthy eugonadal men (n=60; age 24-78 years). Total fat mass was assessed by bioimpedance measurement. Univariate and multiple linear regression analysis was used to detect possible differences. RESULTS: In eugonadal men, serum testosterone levels decreased with advancing age (correlation coefficients: r=-0.71; P<0.0001), while BMI (r=0.39; P=0.002), total fat content (r=0.51; P<0.0001) and leptin (r=0.48; P<0.0001) increased significantly. In untreated hypogonadal patients, an increase in BMI (r=0.50; P=0.013) and total fat mass (r=0.41; P=0.044) was also observed with advancing age. However, in substituted hypogonadal patients, no age-dependent change in BMI (r=0.067; P=0.606), body fat content (r=-0.083; P=0.522), serum testosterone (r=-0,071; P=0.59) or serum leptin (r=-0.23; P=0.176) was found. CONCLUSION: Since testosterone-substituted older hypogonadal men show BMI and fat mass similar to those of younger eugonadal men and since non-treated hypogonadal men are similar to normal ageing men, testosterone appears to be an important factor contributing to these changes. Thus ageing men should benefit from testosterone substitution as far as body composition is concerned.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cora Watzinger ◽  
Tobias Nonnenmacher ◽  
Mirja Grafetstätter ◽  
Solomon A. Sowah ◽  
Cornelia M. Ulrich ◽  
...  

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can lead to functional liver impairment and severe comorbidities. Beyond energy balance, several dietary factors may increase NAFLD risk, but human studies are lacking. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the associations between food consumption (47 food groups, derived Mediterranean and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet quality scores) and liver fat content (continuous scale and NAFLD, i.e., >5% liver fat content). Liver fat content was measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 136 individuals (BMI: 25–40 kg/m2, age: 35–65, 50.7% women) and food intake was recorded by food frequency questionnaires (FFQs). Associations between food items and liver fat were evaluated by multi-variable regression models. Intakes of cake and cookies as well legumes were inversely associated with liver fat content, while positive associations with intakes of high-fat dairy and cheese were observed. Only cake and cookie intake also showed an inverse association with NAFLD. This inverse association was unexpected, but not affected by adjustment for reporting bias. Both diet quality scores were inversely associated with liver fat content and NAFLD. Thus, as smaller previous intervention studies, our results suggest that higher diet quality is related to lower liver fat, but larger trials with iso-caloric interventions are needed to corroborate these findings.


2011 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 526-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roseann Nasser ◽  
Stephanie Cook ◽  
Megan Bashutski ◽  
Karen Hill ◽  
Darci Norton ◽  
...  

The purpose of this study was to determine consumers’ perceptions of industrially produced trans fats. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Regina at 3 different grocery store chains located in 3 different regions. A 21-item survey was administered in English by 3 research assistants at the grocery stores over a 5-day period. Of 498 potential respondents who were approached, 211 completed the survey, for a 42% response rate. The majority of respondents were female and over 61 years of age. When respondents were asked if they looked for information on food packages while grocery shopping, none of the respondents indicated that they looked for trans fat on the food label. Ninety-six percent of respondents identified that trans fat is found in processed foods, whereas 42% of respondents incorrectly identified trans fat as being found in nonhydrogenated margarines. More female respondents self-reported that they had made dietary changes to decrease trans fat intake as compared with male respondents (p < 0.05). Those participants who made dietary changes to decrease trans fat intake had higher mean knowledge scores than did those who did not make changes (p < 0.043). Sixty-three percent of respondents indicated that they would not make dietary changes to their snack food selections even if their selections contained trans fat. Consumers know a little about trans fats and consider them to be a concern. However, consumers are reluctant to make dietary changes to limit these fats in their snack food selections.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atieh Mirzababaei ◽  
Elnaz Daneshzad ◽  
Farideh Shiraseb ◽  
Sanaz Pourreza ◽  
Leila Setayesh ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Previous studies have shown that the minor allele (C allele) for Cry 1 rs2287161, may be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Low resting metabolic rate (RMR) caused by the diet has been shown to have, potentially, unfavorable effects on obesity. This study sought to investigate the interactions between the Cry 1 Gene and fat intake on RMR in overweight and obese women.Methods: This comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on 377 Iranian women with overweight and obesity. A food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), with 147 items, was used to assess dietary intake. Individuals were categorized into two groups based on the rs2287161 genotype. Body composition, dietary intake, and RMR were assessed for all participants.Results: There was a significant difference between genotypes for FBS (P=0.04), fat free mass (FFM) (P=0.0009), RMR per FFM (P =0.05), RMR per body mass index (BMI) (P=0.02), and RMR deviation (P=0.01). Our findings also showed significant interactions between total fat and C allele carrier group on RMR per kg, RMR per body surface area (BSA), RMR per FFM, and RMR deviation (P for interaction <0.1), in addition to a significant interaction between CC+CG group genotype and PUFA intake on RMR per BMI (P for interaction =0.009) and RMR per kg (P for interaction=0.02) and RMR per BSA (P=0.07), compared to the GG group, after control for confounder factors.Conclusion: These results highlight that dietary compositions, gene variants, and their interaction, should be acutely considered in lower RMR.


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