General

McCain Faces Fat Facts

The McCain ongoing campaign to encourage consumers to opt for a healthy and Stroke awareness month. Lifestyle and balanced eating habits will be reinforced during September which is Heart According to statistics from the South African Heart and Stroke Foundation, heart disease is now the number one health threat in the world with South Africa clocking up a shocking daily figure of 33 deaths due to heart attacks, 60 from strokes and another 37 via heart failure. One of the biggest culprits responsible for this disturbing trend is the high fat diet and our ignorance about heart disease and its causes. The reality is that not all fats are created equal, yet according to McCain research, while approximately 60% of people surveyed were aware that there are different types of fats, they could not differentiate the good fats from the bad fats. Very simply put; saturated fats and trans fatty acids are the bad fats which raise the total and LDL (bad) cholesterol and contribute to heart disease while unsaturated fats are good and could actually help lower total cholesterol levels. The science now shows that public enemy number one are the trans fatty acids (TFAs), which send total cholesterol and bad cholesterol (LDL) levels soaring, and have a crippling effect on good cholesterol (HDL) levels. They may indeed play an even more important role in heart disease than saturated fat. Shockingly about 75% of the respondents who took part in the McCain survey were completely unaware of TFAs. Unfortunately the potato chip is the one food type that continually gets the blame for being full of the bad fats and so gets classified as a food that everyone should avoid. Believe it or not there is in fact no need to chuck those delicious chips if you want to be in good health. Fats are in fact an essential part of a diet and as long as you know the difference between the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’ and take a moderate approach and consider your total diet and overall lifestyle, chips can be a part of a healthy eating plan. “Fast foods always feature high on the unhealthy list, particularly chips which are singled out for being fatty and therefore harmful,” says Owen Porteus, McCain Managing Director. “Not true. All McCain chips are actually trans fat free and also contain relatively low levels of total fat. Analysis shows that McCain frozen chips fat levels are much lower than the fat levels of chips made by slicing and frying a raw potato. The raw potato chip absorbs up to 20% more oil than the frozen chip during cooking.” To further cement its commitment to its customers, McCain provides ongoing training, by means of the McCain Cadets, to QSRs and retailers on the correct storage and preparation of its chips. All the QSR customers of McCain use trans free oil in their stores as well. This is a further indication of the joint commitment of McCain and its customers to promoting a healthy lifestyle and balanced eating habits. McCain Real Ovenbake Chips, Roast Potatoes and Microwave Chips are in fact recognised as being the best choice in chips and so carry the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s endorsement. McCain frozen chips are made with one of the most nutritious vegetables available: potatoes. Potatoes are a great source of vitamin C, iron, potassium and dietary fibre. The secret lies in the chips’ preparation. McCain chips are blanched and then flash fried prior to freezing. If stored and prepared correctly, McCain Real Ovenbake Chips and Microwave Chips contain less than 5% fat when ready to eat and both will be trans fat free. “McCain delivers on the promise to ensure that our frozen chips reach their point of distribution in a completely trans fat free state,” adds Porteus. “As long as the chips are stored and prepared correctly, no one need feel guilty about eating chips as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. It’s about offering the consumer choice, and for those people who choose to eat chips, we offer the best for you option.” McCain strongly supports the principles of adopting a balanced lifestyle and healthy diet. The company understands the demands of modern living and the tendency to grab quick fix meals and snacks on the go. Its potato chips cater for those customers by offering tasty, better for you products that can be included as part of a healthy, balanced eating plan. Advetorial issued by McCain