Safety of Foods for Ethnic Minorities
1. Introduction
As part of its commitment to Social Inclusion, Staffordshire County Council Consumer Services conducted a project entitled 'The safety of foods for Ethnic Minorities' in 2001.
2. Purpose of Project and Objectives
The aim of this project was to establish the food concerns, eating habits and nutritional value of take-away meals and snacks consumed by Asian residents in Burton-Upon-Trent.
To achieve the above aim, the project set out to determine what concerns (if any) local Asian residents in Burton-Upon-Trent had about food and what they were eating. Using this information, a sampling plan was developed to scientifically analyse any foods of concern to this population group to identify whether their concerns were warranted.
3. Participants
The project involved consultation with four local Asian community organisations in Burton-Upon-Trent:-
1. Asian Elders drop-in centre
2. Jigsaw mentoring Project
3. Pakistani Community Centres
4. Princes Resource and Community Centre in partnership with Elim church.
4. Methodology
The Asian organisations involved in the project assisted in the production of a questionnaire, designed to assess the types of food consumed by Asian communities and to assess any concerns that they had about food. This questionnaire was translated into Urdu and then completed by community organisations and by individuals at an Asian community street event.
The results from the questionnaire were used by Trading Standards staff to devise a sampling programme. The samples that were collected were subsequently tested by Staffordshire County Council Scientific Services.
5. Evaluation
The questionnaire revealed that popular food choices were as follows:-
Breakfast: Eggs and toast / Indian biscuit / Indian cake rusk / Buttered chapattis (paratha)
Lunchtime: Home-prepared and bought curry dishes, chapattis, fish and chips and fishcakes
Evening meal: As at lunchtime, but also pizza and Donna kebabs
Snacks: Crisps / pakoras / poppadums / crackers / sweets / chocolate / egg biscuits / cake rusks and samosas (meat and vegetable).
The concerns voiced by the questionnaire respondents were:-
1. The fat content of restaurant and takeaway food.
2. The authenticity of 'Halal' food
3. Potential meat contamination of vegetarian foods
Samples were taken of popular snacks from supermarkets, vegetarian meals were sampled from fast food outlets and meals containing meat were sampled from local Halal take-a-ways.
Using various dietary combinations from the questionnaire, the calculated daily fat intake from the foods analysed was found to easily exceed daily fat requirements. In addition, the concerns raised by the local community groups were justified: butterfat was found in vegetarian products and a Halal beef and onion pie was found to contain lamb / mutton (which was not declared).
6. Resources
The staff involved in this project included the Lead Trading Standards Officer for Food, The Consumer services Community Development Officer and Scientific Services staff at Staffordshire County Council.
Literature outlining the results of this project have been distributed to local Asian community organisations in Burton-Upon-Trent and to the wider community of Staffordshire through Staffordshire Country Council's Community Watchdog network. This work has also been showcased in the Trading Standards Institute document entitled 'Making the Connection: Trading Standards contributing to Public Health'.
7. Lessons Learned
This project sparked a request from the Asian Community in Burton-Upon-Trent for more nutritional information to be made available to them to enable them to exert greater control over the fat content of the foods they were found to be consuming.
This has highlighted the need to 'close the loop' with community health projects through community education, as this was not originally included in the project brief. A Community Food Co-ordinator (Dietitian) has since been recruited by Staffordshire County Council to help inform future projects and to address the needs of the Asian Community in this project.
8. Future Work
Staffordshire County Council Consumer Services and Burton Consumer Watchdog Forum have decided that the best way forward is to develop a resource that can be disseminated to and delivered by community and health workers locally. The Council are currently working towards forming a steering group to consider the best format for such a resource and the best way in which it can be delivered to the Asian community. This steering group will include representatives from local Asian Community groups, health workers in Burton-Upon-Trent and The Community Food Co-ordinator and the Consumer Services Community Development team.
A project similar to this one has been requested by African Caribbean community representatives in Burton-Upon-Trent and will be taking place between April 2004 and March 2005.
Training for Consumer Watchdogs
1. Introduction
As part of its commitment to improving Public Health, Staffordshire County Council Consumer Services conducted training for Consumer Watchdogs on healthy eating and food labelling in November 2003.
2. Objectives and Purpose
As the Community Watchdog Scheme enables groups and individuals to act as the eyes and ears of the Trading Standards Service at the Council, the purpose of this training was to inform watchdogs about the principles of a healthy diet, to educate them about food labelling, to enable them to identify basic labelling compliance problems and to utilise food labelling to construct a healthy diet. It also provided an opportunity to inform Consumer Watchdogs about the role of Trading Standards in food and health.
3. Participants
The Consumer Watchdogs involved in the training (approximately 100 in total) came from a variety of backgrounds and represented community, voluntary and statutory organisations.
4. Methodology
1 ½ hour training sessions were run in conjunction with Consumer Watchdog forums throughout Staffordshire (in Burton-Upon-Trent, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, South Staffordshire, Stafford and Tamworth). Healthy eating sessions focused on the ‘Balance of Good Health’ plate model and utilised plastic food models and quizzes. Food labelling advice was delivered using the British Heart Foundation’s food labelling leaflet and an example food label from a product, illustrating an example of good practice in food labelling.
5. Evaluation
Evaluation of training delivered (including nutrition and food labelling) is currently underway through an external evaluation of the Watchdog scheme.
Following the training sessions, several Watchdogs contacted Consumer Services independently by telephone and the following evaluation was made:-
- The sessions were very useful for community organisations.
- Some Watchdogs were surprised at the extent to which their awareness of the content of food and of healthy eating had increased with this training.
- The sessions were noted as being helpful in evaluating confusing messages that exist in relation to food and health.
- Watchdogs stated that they were better informed about food labelling and the composition of foods that they were purchasing on a regular basis.
6. Resources
Training sessions were run by the Community Food Co-ordinator (Dietitian) and the Lead Officer for Food at Staffordshire County Council. The Balance of Good Health educators leaflets were used to support the healthy eating sessions, together with plastic food models. The British Heart Foundation food labelling leaflet was also used and agreement was given by the Foundation to translate the leaflet into Urdu for use in the sessions.
7. Lessons Learned
With no formal evaluation process for each training session, this round of training has highlighted the need for formal evaluation after future individual training sessions.
8. Future Developments
- Since the training sessions have taken place, future sessions have been requested by Watchdogs on the following issues:-
- Special diets (e.g. diabetic / coelliac).
- Dietary needs of specific population groups (e.g. elderly)
- Weight reduction / weight management
Contact Details
Name: Nicola Day (Community Food Co-ordinator)
Tel: 01785 277859
Email: nicola.day@satffordshire.gov.uk
Name: Tim Leese (Community Development Lead Officer)
Tel: 01785 277818
Email: tim.leese@staffordshire.gov.uk
Tel: 01785 259760
Address:
Staffordshire County Council (Consumer Services)
Social Care and Health Directorate,
14, Martin Street,
Stafford.
ST16 2LG
Downloads – Linking Enforcement to Consumer Health
Fat, Meat and Salt Content of Sausages and Chicken Nuggets
In response to a concern about the rising incidence of obesity in childhood and the projected effects of unhealthy diets on morbidity and mortality, Staffordshire County Council Consumer Services and Stoke-on-Trent City Council Trading Standards have investigated the fat, meat and salt content of sausages and chicken nuggets, which are popular meat sources for children and families living on low incomes.
The fat, meat and salt content of different varieties of sausages and chicken nuggets were investigated, together with the effects of cooking methods on these parameters. In addition, the project sought to determine whether low income groups in the community were at a disadvantage due to the price of products.
Evaluation of the Nutritional Value of Ready Meals
Staffordshire County Council Consumer Services, in combination with other Trading Standards Authorities in the Midlands Region (MidCOTS), have investigated the nutritional quality of a variety of ready meals.
The aim of this project was to compare ready meals in relation to their nutritional content and UK dietary guidelines and consider their 'value for money' on a nutritional basis.
Other Resources:
This project has now completed and remains on the Food Vision site as an example of a great food project, the project team can no longer be contacted.