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Fish Friers

Fish and Chips Nutritional Information

Portions have got larger over the years and people have become less active meaning that the NHS is having to treat more obesity related health problems. By making small changes we can help improve the health of the nation and also improve our food quality and profitability at the same time. The NFFF Perfect Portion initiative includes a website dedicated to food quality and portion control, useful tricks and tips on how to manage your oil, offer more portion choice and we even offer a service to have your food nutritionally tested. You can visit this website at: www.perfectportion.co.uk

Food for thought!

A recent survey from Diabetes UK showed that around 60% of the public said that they would be more likely to eat at an establishment that offered calorie labelling on its menus, and 79% of respondents to a recent survey by Public Health England said they think that menus should include the number of calories in food and drinks.

The Government intends to introduce legislation to make calorie labelling compulsory in the out of-home sector, this will include restaurants, cafes and takeaways, as well as online businesses that sell food or drink for takeaway or home delivery that is ready to be consumed.

You can read the full policy proposal and take part in the consultation by visiting: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/calorie-labelling-for-food-and-drink-served-outside-of-the-home

The aim of the policy is to ensure that consumers have access to clear and accurate information about the calorie content of the food and drink that they and their families are purchasing and consuming. Making this information available can help people to make informed and healthy choices for themselves and their families and regulate their energy intake and that of their children effectively. This will contribute to efforts to reduce rates of children being overweight and obese.

This testing is not yet mandatory, but if you want to find out just how your fish and chips compare with a McDonalds Big Mac meal, BK Whopper meal or KFC Boneless Banquet meal then the NFFF are here to help. We have a range of tests through a UKAS accredited laboratory at heavily discounted rates for NFFF members.

Fish Friers
Pricelist
To display results: NFFF Member rates (inc VAT) Non-member rates (inc VAT)
First in batch or single test from Additional tests in same batch First in batch or single test Additional tests in same batch
To display energy only £138 £90 £186 £108
To display energy +4, or all 7 nutrients £216 £168 £264 £186
Acrylamide only £186 £138 £234 £186
Gluten free £420 £74.40 £468 £90

Visit: www.perfectportion.co.uk for more information

Fish Friers

As previously reported in the Fish Friers Review, the NFFF have conducted a series of nutritional tests using samples produced at the NFFF Training School in Leeds to get a full, fair and realistic picture of the nutritional content of the meals we produce.

Working with Stelios Theocharous formerly of Fish and Chip Test Company and now World of Ceres, former NFFF Training Academy Co-ordinator Mark Drummond produced 10 samples for testing. This included a sample of homemade mushy peas, so the results could be combined together to produce results for fish and chips or fish, chips and mushy peas. All sample weights were recorded so we were able to produce both results per 100 grams and results for certain size meals.

see the results of the testing below:

Fish Friers
6 oz. portion of fish with 10 oz. chips and 4 oz. Mushy Peas:
Portion Calories Fat (Grams)
Total Portion Average 1086 52.9
Per 100g Average 187 9.2

6 oz. portion of fish with 10oz. chips:
Portion Calories Fat (Grams)
Total Portion Average 998.8 52.3
Per 100g Average 212.7 11.1
We fried chips cut to 14 x 17 mm in palm fat and then produced the nutritional values for various portion sizes commonly offered in fish and chip shops.
PORTION OF CHIPS (oz) Calories Fat (Grams)
5oz 295 11.9
10oz 589 23.8
15oz 884 35.7
20oz 1177 47.5
25oz 1473 59.5

Summary: The portion size you sell has a huge impact on the total fat and calories your customers consume. However healthy the product is, if portion sizes are very large the customer will have consumed a high amount of fat and large number of calories.

We tested 3 different sizes of fish (4oz, 6oz and 10oz). The same batter was used for all samples and all the fish used was Icelandic FAS Cod. The results are per 100 grams.
FISH SIZE (oz) Calories Fat (Grams)
4oz Cod 227 16.7
6oz Cod 240 17.3
10oz Cod 265 20.3

Summary: The results indicate that bigger fish contain more fat and calories per 100g, meaning that an accurate result cannot be obtained by simply testing one size of fish then applying to other sizes (i.e. testing a 4 oz fish and then multiplying by 2 to get results for an 8 oz fish).

We tested 3 different thicknesses of chips (14mm x14mm, 14mm x 17mm and 17mm x 17mm) all fried in palm fat and also cooked one sample by blanching and one straight through to see if blanching affected the fat and calorie content. The results are per 100 g
CHIP SIZE (mm) Calories Fat (Grams)
14 x 14 220 8.6
14 x 17 208 8.3
17 x 17 212 9.0
14 x 17 (blanched) 225 8.7

Summary: A chip cut to the size of 14 x 17mm proved to be the healthiest in term of having fewer calories and less fat. We expected a thicker chip cut to 17 x 17mm to be the healthiest but this came out with higher results. This can perhaps be explained by the requirement of a longer cooking time, meaning more time to absorb the fat, or it could be due to the fact that the 17 x 17mm chips were "ready chips” and the others freshly prepared in the training school that morning.

We produced the same fish and chips, using the portion size above, in 3 different frying mediums, Rape Seed Oil, Beef Dripping and Palm Fat (Frymax), to see how this affected fat and calorie content.
FRYING MEDIUM Calories TOTAL FAT  (Grams) SATURATED FAT(Grams)
Rapeseed Oil Per portion 972 47.1 4.2
Per 100g 202 9.8 0.9
Beef Dripping Per portion 1028 56.6 30.9
Per 100g 216 11.9 6.5
Palm Fat (Frymax) Per portion 997 53.3 26.3
Per 100g 220 11.7 5.8

Summary: Palm Fat and Beef Dripping offer similar results, whereas Rapeseed Oil proved to be lower in calories and fat and much lower in saturated fat. It is worth pointing out the results for Rapeseed Oil were dependent on the oil being in a good condition. As a frying medium it breaks down more easily than the others and results from oil in poor condition would be very different. This is just one of the many reasons for good oil management.

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Overall Summary

*Fish and chips are less than 10% fat if properly cooked and an average sized portion is less than 1000 calories. Adding peas to the meal lowers fat and calories per 100 grams, but as peas contain approximately 100 calories per 100 grams, this increases the total calories consumed in the meal.

Rapeseed oil (when in optimum condition) produces the healthiest product, but breaks down more easily than other frying mediums. It is, however, a reasonable view that the customer expectation of taste is more important.

The size of portion you serve is key to total calories and fat your customers consume.

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FISH AND CHIPS ARE LESS THEN 10% FAT

An average sized portion of fish and chips is less then 1000 calories*

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Fish Friers
Fish Friers