Saturated Fats on menus

At the World Congress on Oils and Fats in Sydney recently, the Heart Foundation has argued that there is a need for labelling of fats on menus, and is asking for restaurants and fast food businesses to move to healthy alternatives to saturated fats.

“Unfortunately most of the outlets are using fats that are very high in saturated fats, some of them are up to about 50 per cent, whereas there is healthier options available at saturated fat levels of 7 per cent,” Susan Anderson, the Heart Foundation’s director of healthy weight, said on ABC radio.

“I think we would really love the fast food sector and the food service industry to switch to these healthier oils,” she added. “They have got great functionality and of course, they are better for Australians health.”

The CEO of Restaurant and Catering Australia, John Hart, recognises that there has been a move to switch to healthier alternatives by many in the industry, but suggests that making labelling mandatory would be cost prohibitive.

“We can’t afford to be able to introduce requirements of labelling of any sort that will make the cost of product prohibitive and we still all want to be able to go out and get take away or get a restaurant meal whenever we want to,” John Hart explained.

The RCA is also concerned about the limits of ingredients that will be controlled and fear where it will stop. “The problem is that it is the thin edge of the wedge and what we need to do is keep the options open to business and not close off what ingredients they use. I mean, if it starts with a particular type of oil, then it will be a particular type of butter, a particular type of margarine, a particular type of beef, a particular type of lamb and where does it end? John Hart said.”

“What we need to do is ensure that businesses have choice and that we’re not limiting what businesses can do or increasing costs to a point where it becomes prohibitive for consumers to eat out,” he concluded