This document summarizes a presentation on analyzing the nutrient content of take-away foods and using those analyses to identify opportunities to improve the nutritional quality of such foods. The presentation analyzed over 400 take-away food samples and found they tended to be high in fat, calories, saturated fat, and salt while low in vitamins, minerals and fiber. It also showed there was great variability between similar dishes from different vendors in terms of salt and fat content. The presentation concluded it is possible to modify recipes to significantly lower salt and fat levels while maintaining acceptability to customers and highlighted the need to better understand what level of change would meaningfully improve public health.

1. ILSI SEA Region Nutrition Labeling Seminar, Thailand, August 2012 (www.ilsi.org/SEA _Region)
NUTRIENT ANALYSIS AND
NUTRIENT PROFILING AS TOOLS
TO IMPROVE THE NUTRITIONAL
QUALITY OF ‘OUT OF HOME’
FOODS
Dr Leo Stevenson,
Human Nutrition Research Centre,
Newcastle University (UK)

2. Take-Away Foods

3. Take-Away Foods

4. Take-Away Foods

5. Take-Away Foods
• High in Fat
• High in Energy
• High in Saturated Fat
• High Salt
• Low in Vitamins & Minerals
• Low in Fibre

6. Take-Away Food Analysis
• 411 Food Samples
• (North West England)
• Chinese (n= 92)
• Beef Green Peppers
& Blackbean Sauce with Fried Rice
• Prawn Chow Mein
• Sweet & Sour Chicken & Boiled Rice
• Char Siu Chow Mein
• Chicken Satay & Fried Rice
• Kung Po King Prawns & Boiled Rice

7. Take-Away Food Analysis
• English (n= 95)
• Chicken & Chips
Fish & Chips
Mushroom Omelette & Chips
• Pizzas (n= 54)
• Pepperoni Pizza
Margherita Pizza
Seafood Pizza
• Ham & Pineapple Piza
• Meat Pizza

8. Take-Away Food Analysis
• Kebabs (n=75)
• Shish Kebab
• Donner Kebab & Chips
• Chicken Kebab
• Indian (n=95)
• Chicken Tikka Massalla &
Kemma Rice
• Lamb Bhuna & Chips
• King Prawn Rogan Josh & Pilau Rice
• Lamb Rogan Josh & Pilau Rice
• Vegetable Biryani

9. Maximum & Minimum Values
Min: Max:
%RDA 15.8 (m) 130.2 (m)
Kcal 20.7 (f) 171.1 (f)
Calories (402 Kcal) (3320 Kcal)
2500 M shish kebab pepperoni pizza
2000 F
%RDA Fat 4.5 (m) 143.1 (m)
5.9 (f) 188.9 (f)
95g M
70g F (4.4g) (141.7g)
shish kebab mushroom omelette & chips
%RDA Salt 11.2 460.2
6g (adult) (0.7g) (27.6g)
2g (young child) chicken kebab beef green peppers and
black-bean sauce & fried rice

10. Fat Content per Chinese Meal

11. Fat Content per Indian Meal

12. Salt Content per Chinese Meal

13. Salt Content per Indian Meal

14. Variability in Salt Content
per 100g
(n=92) (n=95) (n=95) (n=54) (n=74)

15. Variability in Salt Content
per Meal
(n=124) (n=95) (n=95) (n=95) (n=95)

16. Variability in Portion Size
(n=124) (n=95) (n=95) (n=95) (n=95)

17. What can we do in Practice?
• Examples of existing good practice
• Provision of improved meals

18. Chicken Chow Mein
Takeaway Outlet 1
<30% A A
30-50% B B
51-70% C C
71-100% D D
>100% E E
>200% F F
% RDA Salt per portion % RDA Salt per portion
(227% - 13.6g) (105% - 6.3g)

19. Chicken Chow Mein
Takeaway Outlet 4
<30%A A
30-50% B B
51-70% C C
71-100% D D
>100% E E
% RDA Fat per portion % RDA Fat per portion
(80% - 60g) (25% - 18.9g)

20. Recipe Comparison-Salt and Fat
Large variation in salt and fat content
depending on where recipe was collected from
Takeaway Sodium (mg) Salt (g) Fat (g)
Outlet Original Modified Original Modified Original Modified
1 5440 2520 13.6 6.3 35.5 24
2 4120 2720 10.3 6.8 27 19.5
3 2080 1840 5.2 4.6 24 21
4 3720 2280 9.3 5.7 59.7 18.9
Original Recipe -
Salt content ranges from 5.2g to 13.6g/portion
Fat content ranges from 24g to 59.7g/portion

21. Results – Sensory Evaluation
Acceptability of Chow Mein
Takeaway Original Modified
Outlet mean SD mean SD
1 6.7 0.85 7.7 0.98*
Like slightly Like moderately
2 8 0.57 6.7 1.25*
Like very much Like slightly
3 7.3 0.46 6.3 1.37
Like moderately Like slightly
4 6.7 1.63 6.2 1.72
Like slightly Like slightly
* indicates significant differences between original and modified
meals

22. Conclusions
• Better understanding of
nutritional issues in ‘out of home’ foodssuch
foods
• Possible to tailor more specific
strategies to improve particular types of meals
• Better understanding of what level of improvement is
achievable in practice
• Possibility to identify ‘healthier options’
• BUT
• How much change is needed for real improvement in
public health?
• Importance of dietary consumption patterns?

23. Acknowledgements
• Dr Ian Davies
• Dr Agnieszka Jaworowska
• Toni Blackham