Labels miss whole story

Lynette Reid checks labels. Photo / Herald on Sunday

Supermarket shelves and fridges are stocked with products labelled "cholesterol free" but they may not be the healthy option they claim to be.

A Herald on Sunday inspection of oils and spreads shows while many claim to be cholesterol free they contain saturated and trans fats, something shoppers need to be aware of.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand spokeswoman Lydia Buchtmann said the amount of cholesterol people ate had little effect on blood cholesterol levels. It was more important to cut back on saturated and trans fats, she said.

Often "cholesterol free" or "light" products were high in sugar and saturated fats, which could increase cholesterol.

FSANZ is developing a standard to regulate nutrition and health claims on food labels.

Buchtmann said the food industry was expected to follow policy guidelines on nutrition, health and related claims but it was not subject to any regulatory requirements.

If products contained the words reduced, low or cholesterol free on the packaging they had to list how much of all types of fats were contained.

The proposed new regulations were on hold pending the outcome of the Australian review of food labelling, expected next March.

"Cholesterol free doesn't mean low in fat," Buchtmann said. "People need to look at labels and choose one that is lowest in saturated fats and trans fats."

The main source of saturated and trans fats were full-fat dairy products, fried food, pastries and meat without its fat trimmed off.

The World Health Organisation recommended no more than 8 to 10 per cent of daily energy intake should come from saturated and trans fats but the average New Zealanders' diet was up to 16 per cent, Buchtmann said.

Heart Foundation national nutrition adviser Delvina Gorton said cholesterol free labels on food were often not useful for consumers.

"Cholesterol is only found in animal foods, not in plant foods. Despite this, cholesterol free labels can be found on plant-based foods like vegetable oils, which don't contain cholesterol," Gorton said.

One product, Alfa One Rice Bran Oil, had a "no cholesterol" label but contained 100g of fat per 100g, of which 22g was saturated.

Its spread was labelled cholesterol free but in the small print it stated "made with cholesterol free rice bran oil". It contained 81g of fat per 100g, including 23g of saturated fat. It also had 0.2g of trans fats and less than 0.5mg of cholesterol.

But company chief executive Ross MacKenzie said the product also contained plant sterols which reduced cholesterol absorption. " We consider rice bran oil to be healthy because of the balance of fatty acids and plant sterols," he said.

'Fat free' doesn't cut it

Lynette Reid has learned to read the fine print. The 61-year-old Auckland manager's blood test results came back showing high cholesterol levels eight years ago.

"I didn't smoke and I was not overweight so it was quite a surprise. My mother and sister had it so I was told it was hereditary," she said.

"You've always got to read the fine print. I'm very wary of claims like 'cholesterol free' or 'fat free', because they are often full of sugar."

Cutting down on saturated and trans fats was more important than avoiding cholesterol.

She used Logicol, a spread containing plant sterols which helps lower cholesterol levels.

"I find it does work but you have to balance it with a healthy diet and exercise," she said.

* Do you have a consumer story to tell? Email joanne.carroll@hos.co.nz or phone (09) 373-9341.