Food Safety Focus (149th Issue, December 2018) – Food Incident Highlight

Choosing Bread Wisely for Your Healthy Diet

Bread is the fourth major contributor of total sodium intake of the adult population in Hong Kong.  Recently, the Centre for Food Safety conducted a joint study with the Consumer Council to test the sodium, total fat and trans fat contents in 10 common bread types including white bread, sesame roll/bun, croissant and sausage bun.  Among 80 samples collected, the sodium content of some white bread and wholemeal bread samples were greater than some overseas standards for salt reduction (e.g. United States, United Kingdom and Canada).  Some croissant and cocktail bun samples were high in total fat and tran fats.  A wide variation of sodium was observed in certain bread types, which reflects the possibility of the trade to reduce its content by product reformulation.

Consumers should be aware of the contents of sodium, total fat and trans fat in different types of bread and choose wisely.  The trade is advised to choose ingredients and to reduce these contents through product reformulation for healthier choices.