Thick chips could help people get slimmer--experts
POSTED March 7, 2010 - 13:15 | POSTED BY Neha Jindal
Last edited by Harpreet Bhagrath on March 7, 2010 - 14:10
FSA experts suggested that, since thicker and fatter chips absorb less fat, chip shop owners should produce thicker versions.
A spokesman for the FSA said, “We’d encourage businesses to offer customers a range of portion sizes, allowing people to choose smaller ones when they wish to.”
The FSA representatives launched the pilot scheme in 2009 across Cambridge shire, Greater Manchester, and Northern Ireland.
Guidelines for the FSA project
Under the project, which will run for a period of two years, the regional authorities will visit chip shops to examine fat contents in the chips being produced there.
According to the officials, increasing the size and thickness of chips will lead to reduced calorie content because of less fat absorption.
Thus, under the latest guidelines, FSA authorities have asked the chip shop owners to increase the volume and thickness of chips to assist in embarking upon the obesity problem in England.
They further stated that doing so would cut the 595 calories and 9.42g of fats present in a piece of fish and chips respectively, to a great extent.
Views to the contrary
National Federation of Fish Fryers’ president, Douglas Roxburgh criticized FSA’s assumptions and said, “They should be concentrating fast food outlets that make the thin French fries, not the traditional independent chip shop.”
“A ban on fries could lead to financial problems for many small businesses,” cautioned Roxburgh.
Chef Aldo Zilli said, “Providing we are not eating chips every day and cooking them in healthier oils, I don’t think on this occasion size really has to matter.”
However, FSA said that by implementing this scheme, it intended to promote ‘good frying practices’ in fish and chip shops.
“For fish and chip shops this includes advice as simple as choosing the type of oil to cook in or the temperature of the oil and thickness of chips. Both can make a big difference to the nutritional value of chips,” added FSA.
Presently, there are over 11,000 fish and chip shops across England selling about 255 million fish and chip meals per annum.
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