Fast food putting you at risk of heart attack

New Delhi: Most of the snacks, noodles and fast food items sold in the market contain higher than permissible limit of salt. In some cases, a study conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment showed, the salt content is three to five times the threshold set by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.

High salt intake, experts said, is a known cause for high blood pressure, which causes 57% of heart attack and 40% of stroke cases. “A small amount of salt on a daily basis — WHO recommends less than 5 grams per day per person — is essential for nerve and muscle function. But it is seen in India that people consume eight to nine grams of salt daily,” said an expert. 

FSSAI norms — drafted recently, but not notified yet — permit 0.25 gram of sodium per 100 grams of savoury snacks and instant noodles. For soups and fast foods, the threshold of salt is 0.35 gram per 100 grams.

CSE said tests showed one of the popular chips brands had 1 gram of salt content in 30 gram of chips. Among namkeens, one brand had salt content seven times the recommended threshold. Dr Sunita Narain, director of CSE, said they tested salt, fat, transfats and carbohydrates in 33 popular junk foods, which included 14 samples of chips, namkeen, instant noodles and soups and 19 samples of burgers, fries, fried chicken, pizza, sandwich and wraps.

The CSE director general said consumers have a right to know what is contained in the package, but FSSAI has not notified its own draft labelling regulation. Her comment refers to the delay in notifying the draft Food Safety Standards, (Labelling and Display) Regulations, which has been in preparation since 2013.

“The recommended dietary allowance of salt and fat is five grams and 60 grams respectively daily. However, we found that eating one burger sold by major brands exhaust anywhere between 62% to 82% of the recommended salt intake for the day and 82% to 120% of the recommended fat intake,” said Amit Khurana, programme director, food safety and toxins at CSE.

FSSAI said in a statement that it has been taking up the junk food regulations seriously and has already put up the draft notifications in public for comments.