Only four of 85 food products recently tested were free of trans fats, with one doughnut found to contain up to 2.2g of trans fat, a Consumer Council and Centre for Food Safety survey has found.

The survey covered 85 products including bakery products, ready-to-eat savouries, instant noodles, soups, milk products, mayonnaise, chocolate spread, peanut butter and chocolate. A rice cracker, two prepackaged soups and a non-dairy creamer were found free of trans fat.

One doughnut type was found to contain the highest trans fat level at 4.7g per 100g. Click here for more details.

The World Health Organisation and the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organisation recommend the daily intake of trans fat be less than 2.2g for a person with a daily energy intake of 2,000 kilocalories.

Health tips

The test showed trans fat levels vary considerably in samples within the same food category, hence it is practically possible to avoid or cut trans fats in the production of food.

Food manufacturers are urged to avoid using hydrogenated vegetable oils to produce their products, develop methods to cut their trans fats content and label ingredients properly on prepackaged food.

Consumers are advised to choose food with less trans fats, less saturated fat and cholesterol; maintain a balanced diet of low salt, low sugar, low fat, and high fibre; use less hydrogenated vegetable oil or animal fat in cooking; and, use steaming and boiling instead of frying.

The test also unveiled some non-dairy creamers and instant noodles were relatively high in saturated fats, while French toast is high in cholesterol.