CookSmart (3rd Issue) Page15

Feature Article

Tips on food preparation

• Each gram of cooking oil, no matter it is healthy or not, contains 9 kilocalories of energy. In order to limit the consumption of fats, we need to use low-fat cooking methods such as baking, steaming and stir-frying.
• Use healthy cooking oils such as canola oil, corn oil, peanut oil and olive oil.
• You may choose from various healthy cooking oils to suit your tastes and menu. Olive oil, for instance, is frequently used in Italian cuisine and salad.

What is "Zero Gram Trans Fat"?

According to the Nutrition labelling scheme of nutritional information of prepackaged foods, 100 g or ml of food with less than 0.3 g of trans fats per serving can be labelled as "Zero Gram Trans Fat".

When preparing a set of "3 Less" sandwiches you may add "zero gram trans fat" margarine and consider adding dressings such as low-fat mayonnaise and low-fat thousand island dressing.

What are "Vegetable Oils"?

Do they meet the requirement of "3 Less" dishes?

"Vegetable oils" refer to extracts from plants. Yet food with no clear labelling may contain coconut oil or palm oil, which may not meet the "3 Less" requirement.

Reference:

1. Centre for Food Safety, Government of HKSAR, Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) (Amendment: Requirements for Nutrition Labelling and Nutrition Claim) Regulation 2008 (Amendment Regulation) http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/food_leg/food_leg_nl_guidance.html
2. Centre for Food Safety, Government of HKSAR, Trade Guidelines on Reducing Trans Fats in Food
   http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/food_leg/food_leg_tgrtff.html
3. Thomas & British Dietetic Association, Manual of Dietetic Practice. 3rd. Ed. Oxford; Malden, MA: Blackwell Science; 2001.