Hot tips for health with your hot chips

It's always important to check the fine print.
We do it when reading contracts, advertisements or politicians' promises ... and now eating hot chips.
So next time you tuck into a feed of hot chips, pay attention to what's printed on the side of the tub.
There you'll read that thick straight-cut chips cooked in clean fat or oil, at the right temperature then thoroughly drained, have much less fat than other chips.
The tubs should be appearing in Northland any time soon.
Martin Dempster, owner of Adriatic Fisheries in Kensington, Whangarei, said consumers were becoming more aware of healthy eating habits.
He said the most important method he used to keep fat levels down was changing fat often.
Food took longer to cook in old fat, so remained longer in the vat.
Keeping the oil hot and good drainage, with the odd shake or bang of the basket, are other keys to lowering fat.
The new tubs are part of the "tips on chips" strategy run by the Potato Growers' Association, Heart Foundation, packaging producer Huhtamaki and industry partners.
According to the Heart Foundation's nutrition consultant Judith Morley-John, New Zealanders eat more than 110,000 tonnes of hot chips every year.
The strategy aims to cut the average fat content in chips by 20 percent, which would equate to 2530 tonnes less fat in New Zealand's annual diet.
"By combining healthier chips with public understanding that chips should only be eaten as an occasional treat, we can make a significant difference to public health," she said.