Can Biscuits Act As Meal Replacements?
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Can Biscuits act as meal replacements? 37 Are biscuits really healthy snacks? Can Biscuits act as meal replacements? TV commercials talk about high • Biscuit is a hygienically packaged fiber, diabetic friendly multigrain snack food available at very biscuits and some biscuits claim to be competitive prices and in different providing the much needed nutrition tastes. at work. All these claims make you • According to a National Council believe that biscuits are healthy foods. of Applied Economic Research Are they really healthy and can they (NCAER) Study, biscuit is replace your meals? predominantly consumed by people from the lower strata of Haven’t you heard some frequent society, particularly children in travellers say “ I can manage a few both rural and urban areas. days of my travel with biscuits and fruits” finding an easy solution The different varieties of biscuits can for their food requirements in the be broadly classifiedas per the BIS absence of hygienic food? (Bureau of Indian Standards), on the basis of sensory attributes Biscuits have today become part Type I Sweet of our lives more out of habit and because of the sentiments attached Type II Semi-Sweet to certain meals like tea time etc. Type III Crackers You should really look at biscuits as Type IV Cookies they are- that is high in calories and Type V Speciality Biscuits with little nutrition, and look beyond Biscuit industry in India in the the advertisements as being better organized sector produces around options for snacks. 65% of the total production, the This study helped us understand all balance 35% being contributed by the about biscuits! And the truth behind unorganized bakeries. the claims made by the manufacturers • Though India is considered as the third producer of Biscuits after • The word biscuit comes from the USA and China, the per capita Latin word, “bis coctus,” which consumption of biscuits in our means twice baked. Biscuits have country is only 1.8 kgs, compared been baked for over thousands of to over 7.5kgs in the USA, UK and years. Japan. 38 CONSUMER’S DIGEST OF CAI JULY 2013 • In west European countries • China has a per capita and South East Asian countries, consumption of 1.9kgs. the average consumption is between 2.5 to 5.5 kgs ARE BISCUITS HEALTHY SNACKS? Some of the foods consumed as snacks are fruit, salad , sundal, roasted nuts, sandwiches, biscuits, murukku, bajji, samosa, vadai etc. If fruit, salad , sundal or vegetable sandwiches are going to be replaced with biscuits then it is not an healthy option. However if biscuits are going to replace murukku, bajji , samosa , vadai etc, it is a much healthier option. (Note : This depends on the item one consumes; moreover murukku & vadai etc are considered to be a healthier food as they contain fat, protein & carbohydrate only whereas a biscuit may contain several chemicals which may do some harm than our traditional snacks) BISCUITS ARE NOT LOW ON CALORIES Marie which is considered to be one of the lighter biscuits contains 56 calories in just two pieces. You will require to do 30 minutes of aerobics to lose those calories. If Marie adds so many calories then imagine the number of calories other sweeter biscuits and the butter cookies will add! A good time to have a biscuit is after exercises and heavy activities. Because it is high in glucose/sucrose. (Note: glucose may be present only in certain biscuits where glucose has been added as per label claim whereas all other biscuits will definitely contain sugar (which is chemically known as sucrose). It can give a boost to your energy. But as a snack by itself, it would not give you nutrition that you should get especially after an activity. So eating cereals or fruits will be a better option. Cream biscuits and fat rich cookies are a big No for a person watching their calorie intake. 39 BISCUITS ARE NOT A GOOD SOURCE OF FIBER Don’t totally believe what they claim in the advertisements. Even with the fiber that is added in the biscuits, the content is much lower than the daily requirement for fiber. So instead of looking at biscuits for fiber we should look at fruits and vegetables for our requirement of fiber. COMPARATIVE TESTING under a grant from Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of Comparative Testing is a formal India. This year, CONCERT is testing process by which products & services 7 products and 3 services. One of of different vendors are tested for the products selected for testing are Quality; the services are tested for Biscuits. compliance to the regulations laid out by the regulatory authorities 34 different brands of biscuits from the four Southern States and CONCERT is undertaking to do this Puduchery were grouped under 6 Comparative Testing for South India categories as indicated below. 1. Marie Biscuits 6 Brands 2. Arrowroot Biscuits 3 Brands 3. Salt Biscuits 5 Brands 4. Milk Biscuits 7 Brands 5. Cream Biscuits 8 Brands 6. Bakery Biscuits 5 Brands 40 STATEWISE CATEGORYWISE SELECTION OF BISCUITS State Arrowroot Cookies and Milk Local brand Marie Biscuits Salt Biscuits Cream Biscuits Biscuits Biscuits (Bakery Biscuits) Major Groups (1) Pomsy – Roozy– Thin Parle Monaco Arrowroot Britannia Crisp Light, Britannia Milk Sunfeast Dream Butter Salt Kerala Biscuits Marie Gold Salted Snack Bikis Cream Biscuits (Best (2)Foster – Cakes, Kochi) Classic Regular Arrowroot Biscuits 2013 OFCAIJULY DIGEST CONSUMER’S Britannia Sunfeast Sunfeast Britannia Good Bourbon – Marie Light – Cookie Man, Tamil Nadu Snacky Salted Day Choco - Nut The Original Original Extra (Chennai) Masti Crackers cookies Flavoured Cream Fiber Biscuits (1) Parle (1) Britannia Actifit (1) Lays Aliva Milk Macronal Crisp Treat Orange Digestive Minis – Sugar & Crunchy Salt Britannia Time Flavoured Cream Marie High Vanilla Flavour Biscuits Karnataka Pass Classic Biscuits Fiber Salted (2) Nanjundeswara Bakers, (2) Amrut Mango (2) Bisk Farm Ragi Salt Biscuit (Bangalore) Cream Biscuit 41 – Marie 42 State Arrowroot Cookies and Milk Local brand Marie Biscuits Salt Biscuits Cream Biscuits Major Biscuits Biscuits (Bakery Biscuits) Groups (1) Parle FESTO Parle Krack Britannia Jack (1) Britannia Chocolate Nutrichoice Nutrichoice – Hi Flavoured Cream Ankit Marie Thin The Original Big Bakers Andhra Fiber Digestive Biscuits Mood Arrowroot Sweet & Salty (Hyderabad) Crackers (2) Amulya – Healthy Rich Milk (2) Dyna’s Orange Flavored Cream (1) Aachi – Enjoy Adyar Bakery Britannia 50 50 Mango Cream McVitie’s Butter Salt Puduchery Kabhi Maska Parle Milk Shakti Biscuits Marie Cookies Kabhi Chaska (2) Complan Cream Biscuits (Chennai) Orange Flavour CONSUMER’S DIGEST OF CAI JULY 2013 Ingredients in Biscuits 2. Saturated fat Saturated fats have a stable chemical As per Section 2.4.15 of the Food Safety composition – they are solid at room & Standards (Food Products standards temperature and oxidize slowly. and food additives) Regulations 2011 Health wise, saturated fats raise the Biscuits are classified under Bakery level of cholesterol in the blood and Products. in large quantities they can increase They may consist of the following your risk of heart attacks and strokes. ingredients: 3. Total Sugar Biscuits including wafer-thin biscuits These are part of the total shall be made from Maida, Vanaspati carbohydrates content and are or refined edible oil or table butter measured in grams. These contain or desi butter or margarine or sugars from natural, normally present ghee or their mixture containing in the food, and added sugars. any one or more of the following The type of sugars that have ingredients, namely, Edible Common been added are indicated in the salt, butter, milk powder, cereals and ingredients list-for example, glucose, their products, cheese cocoa, coffee fructose, sugar, dextrose, maltose, extract, edible desiccated coconut, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice dextrose, fruit and fruits products, dry concentrate, turbinado, maple syrup, fruit and nuts, egg, edible vegetable molasses, barley, and malt. products, ginger, gluten, groundnut These added sugars, along with Trans- flour, milk and milk products, honey, fats, should be avoided by anyone liquid glucose, malt products, edible trying to improve body composition, oilseeds, flour and meals, spices and health and performance. condiments, edible starches such as potato starch and edible flours, 4. Total Salt sugar and sugar products, invert The amount of dietary salt consumed sugar, jaggery, protein concentrates, is an important determinant of BP oligofructose (max 15%) vinegar and levels and over all cardio vascular risk. other nutrients and vitamins. WHO recommends salt intake of less PARAMETERS TESTED than 5 grams per person per day for the prevention of Cardio – Vascular I. HEALTH & SAFETY Diseases (CVD). However, we consume salt nearly 10 grams a day; Tests performed on Biscuits (BIS or adding salt directly to some diet and AOAC) drink and eating salt dense pickles, 1. Total Fat papad, etc. 43 NIN recommends that salt be reduced of Trans fats be reduced to trace to 6 grams per person per day. amounts. 5. Cholesterol There are two sources of Trans fat (Tested only for Biscuits containing also known as Trans fatty acids: Butter Dairy fat or Egg) • Trans fat formed naturally – this Cholesterol, while necessary for the type of Trans fat is produced in endogenous production of many the gut of some grazing animals. substances in the body including That is why small quantities of Vitamin D and some hormones, can Trans fat can be found in animal become a problem if it’s too high. products like milk, milk products, and meat. 6. Trans Fat (Fatty Acid Profile) Trans fat formed during food Trans fatty acids are the common processing – this type of Trans name for unsaturated fat with trans- fat is created when hydrogen isomer (E-isomer) fatty acids. There is added to vegetable oil (a is also evidence that the risk of type process called hydrogenation) 2 diabetes is directly associated with to make it more solid.