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Manipulation of food composition

The nutritional composition of a food is affected by many factors, including, for example, variety, environmental factors (e.g. soil composition, climate), storage, preparation and cooking methods, and processing.  Compilers of food composition databases try to take account of the most important sources of variation, but users need to be aware of the effect that they can have on, for example, estimates of nutrient intake.

As the food supply becomes increasingly diverse, it is more and more difficult for food composition database compilers to keep abreast of the often frequent changes in composition (Gillanders et al., 2002).  One of the challenges faced is the positive trend towards the manipulation of the composition of food, usually to give a more 'healthy' nutrient profile.

The most common ways in which food composition is manipulated include:

• • reduction in levels of, for example, fat, saturated fatty acids, sugar and salt;
 
• • manipulation of animal diets to enhance the nutritional profile of resultant products such as eggs and milk;
 
• • enrichment or fortification with nutrients or components with putative health benefits; and
 
• • genetic modification.

 

 

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Fat Composition of Foods Sold at Retail

A targeted national scan of processed foods sold primarily in grocery stores, conducted by Health Canada and Food & Consumer Products of Canada in June 2005, confirmed the Task Force's assumption that the use of alternatives to trans fats was increasing rapidly, although more so in some food categories than in others.

 

Almost all bread products and salad dressings were free of trans fats. Significant progress had also been achieved in certain food categories such as french fries and chips. However, some varieties of baked goods, oriental noodles, snack puddings, liquid coffee whiteners, microwave popcorn, toaster pastries, hard margarines and shortenings still contained high amounts of trans fats. It was also noted that new and reformulated products with minimal amounts of trans fat were appearing on the market on a regular basis.

 

In many instances, partially hydrogenated oils had been replaced by oils rich in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids - fats that have been identified as healthier alternatives to oils and fats rich in saturated fatty acids. However, alternatives rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids are more prone to lipid oxidation and do not possess the functional characteristics (e.g. an appropriate melting point) needed in processing certain food products. In fact, it was noted that in some food categories (e.g. cookies, snack puddings, crackers, granola bars, oriental noodles and liquid coffee whiteners), partially hydrogenated oils had sometimes been replaced by oils in which 50-100% of total fat was saturated fat.

 

While these high saturated fat alternatives are still less harmful to health than oils containing high amounts of trans fatty acids, they do not contribute to the goal of reducing coronary heart disease risk and achieving the Task Force's objective of "significant net health benefit." That said, even in some of the more problematic food categories (e.g. crackers and other snack foods), the Task Force noted innovative products that have incorporated more healthful alternative oils. This finding can be attributed to targeted research and development efforts by industry - efforts that should be encouraged.

 

The Task Force's consultations revealed some concerns regarding the use of trans fats in baby and toddler foods (i.e. foods for children under two years of age). It seems that increased awareness has already sparked actions by industry, and the Task Force did not devote time to discussing this issue.In summary, there is good evidence that growing consumer awareness and mandatory nutrition labelling have motivated industry to reduce or eliminate trans fat from many processed foods sold in grocery stores. However, there is also evidence that these factors alone will not result in reformulation of all processed foods, and that some products with higher trans fat content are likely to remain unchanged in the absence of a regulated limit. These include products where it is more difficult for manufacturers to generate an adequate return on the investment required for reformulation. Examples of such products are low-cost foods (oriental noodles), foods consumed for reasons other than nutritional value (cakes and pastries) and foods for which nutrient information is not easily accessible (nachos sold in movie theatres).