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Diet quality and processed foods

Diet quality and processed foods   Last reviewed 11 September 2020 A nutritious diet is important to the health and wellbeing of Australian and New Zealand consumers. Large studies around the world have reported that diets of lower quality (e.g. high in sugar, salt, and saturated fats) are associated with an increased risk of early death from cardiovascular disease and cancer. Diet scoring systems There is extensive research on ways to measure how nutritious your diet is. Diet scoring systems, also known as diet quality indices, typically rate the quality of your diet based on the different types of foods you eat - such as fruit, vegetables, cereals, meat and fish, and some also look at the nutrients we get from these foods such as sodium, sugars, protein, fibre and fats. For…

Published 30 September 2020

Regulatory nutrient reference values

Regulatory nutrient reference values (April 2018) Nutrient reference values (NRVs) indicate the daily amount of nutrients (energy, macro-nutrients, vitamins, minerals) required for good health, as well as an upper safe level of nutrient intake. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the New Zealand Ministry of Health released a comprehensive set of NRVs for Australia and New Zealand in 2006. A further update of reference values for sodium and fluoride was published in 2017. The 2006 NRVs replaced the previous Recommended Dietary Intakes for Use in Australia (RDIs) which were published in 1991 and adopted by New Zealand. These RDIs together with other government recommendations, and certain United States ESADDIs (Estimated Safe and Adequate Daily Dietary Intakes) (1989)…

Published 1 March 2022

Sugar

Sugar (August 2019) Sugars are carbohydrates that occur naturally in many foods but are also added as ingredients to foods. Like most carbohydrates they are used by the body for energy. Sugars can be derived from different sources. In Australia and New Zealand sugar for commercial use is mostly extracted from sugarcane. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose, and galactose.  The sugar most commonly used as table sugar is sucrose. This sugar is a disaccharide which is broken down in the body to fructose and glucose, so it can be used for energy. Is there a nutritional difference between the different types of sugars (e.g. white sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar)? There is very little difference between types of sugar you find in the supermarket…

Published 28 August 2019

Thiamin fortification

Thiamin fortification (June 2016) Standard 2.1.1 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code requires mandatory fortification of wheat flour for making bread with thiamin. This requirement was first mandated in January 1991 to minimise the incidence of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, a potentially fatal neurological disorder caused by thiamin deficiency.  Thiamin fortification of bread had not been formally monitored on a national basis since the standard was implemented in 1991. As part of ongoing activities to monitor the impact of implementing the mandatory folic acid and iodine fortification standard, surveys of bread in 2010 and 2012 analysed the thiamin content of the samples as well as their folic acid and iodine content. The analyses indicated that the breads contained…

Published 28 June 2016

Plant sterols

Plant sterols (June 2016) Plant sterols (phytosterols, phytostanols and their fatty acid esters) are cholesterol-like substances that occur naturally at low levels in fruits, vegetables, nuts and cereals. When eaten at the recommended amount, between 2 and 3 grams a day, plant sterols can reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in our blood. Most people obtain between 150 and 360 milligrams of plant sterols daily, depending on diet. Eating more than 3 grams per day does not reduce your LDL cholesterol any further. Use in food The Food Standards Code (Schedule 25 - Permitted Novel Foods) permits the use of plant sterols in margarine, low fat milks, low fat yoghurts and breakfast cereals, lower fat cheese and…

Published 24 June 2016

Sodium and salt

Sodium and salt What is salt? Salt is a chemical compound made up of sodium and chlorine. It's been used in food preparation for thousands of years, for flavour and to help preserve foods. Too much sodium from salt in the diet has been linked with increased blood pressure and hypertension, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, including stroke and heart attack. Sodium in food Sodium is a commonly occurring element. While most of the sodium in our food comes from salt, sodium is found naturally in virtually all foods that we eat, even when they don't have added salt. When the nutrients in foods are analysed the sodium content from all sources (i.e. naturally occurring sodium, sodium from food additives and sodium from added salt) is determined, not the amount of salt in a food, as…

Published 5 January 2021

How much sodium is in Australian foods?

How much sodium is in Australian foods? FSANZ monitors the levels of sodium in the Australian food supply because it's the sodium from salt in the diet that's linked to major health problems. We analysed sodium in monitoring programs in 2006 and 2008 and in 2009 in a range of packaged and take-away foods. In these surveys, the foods found to contain the highest levels of sodium per 100 g were: potato crisps, processed meat and meat products including sausages, meat pies, sausage rolls and chicken nuggets, cheese and pizza. Other high sodium foods include a range of sauces, spreads and condiments. These analysed values include sodium from salt, naturally occurring sodium and sodium from food additives. The food industry has been reducing salt in various products to reduce sodium levels.…

Published 29 January 2019

How much sodium do Australians eat?

How much sodium do Australians eat? FSANZ estimates that Australians aged two years and older eat an average of 2,150 mg of sodium per day from an average of 5,500 mg of salt (5.5 g). About 80 per cent of this would be from processed foods and 20 per cent from salt used at the table or in home cooking. This estimate of sodium intake from salt does not include the smaller amounts of sodium coming from naturally occurring sodium or sodium-containing food additives. Because this is an average, there will be a lot of Australians who eat more than this and more than the recommended maximum intakes. Read more about sodium and salt Foods that contribute the most to Australians' salt consumption are bread and bread rolls, meat, poultry and game products, including processed meat, and cereal products…

Published 10 June 2015

Sports foods

Sports foods (October 2020) Sports foods are specially formulated to help people achieve specific nutritional or sporting performance goals. They are intended to supplement the diet of sports people rather than be the only or main source of nutrition. These products are regulated under Standard 2.9.4 - Formulated supplementary sports foods of the Food Standards Code (the Code). To meet the specific dietary requirements of sports people, this Standard allows the addition of substances that are not permitted or are restricted in other foods including higher levels of some vitamins and minerals. This means sports foods are not suitable for children or pregnant women. To help people make informed choices when it comes to sports foods…

Published 8 September 2021

Trans fatty acids

Trans fatty acids (May 2017) Trans fatty acids (TFAs), occur both naturally in foods and can be formed or added to foods during manufacture. Naturally occurring TFAs are found in some animal products including butter, cheese and meat. Manufactured TFAs (also known as artificial TFAs) are formed when liquid vegetable oils are partially hydrogenated or 'hardened' during processing to create spreads such as margarine, cooking fats for deep-frying and shortening for baking. Some TFAs are also formed during high temperature cooking. Are trans fatty acids harmful? There is strong evidence that TFAs increase the amount of 'bad' low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in our blood, a major risk factor for coronary heart disease. Also, TFAs may decrease the levels of 'good' high-density lipoprotein (HDL)…

Published 16 April 2019