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We are cautioning consumers not to be duped into thinking vegie chips are a healthy alternative to potato chips or vegetables, following a new audit that showed almost 70 per cent of the products analysed contained unacceptable levels of salt.
Our Obesity Prevention Manager, Ainslie Sartori, said shockingly 14 of the vegie chip products analysed contained over 1000mg of sodium per 100g.
“Cancer Council WA’s LiveLighter® team conducted a nutrition audit of the vegie chips available from the health food and chip aisles at Australia’s two major supermarket chains, excluding products that contained only potato or corn,” Ms Sartori said.
“Of the 84 different vegie chips products analysed, 69 per cent contained unacceptable levels of salt, defined as over 400mg of sodium per 100g of product.
“We’ve seen an explosion in the number of chip alternatives in health food aisles recently including lentil, pea, mushroom, carrot, broccoli, beetroot and seaweed chips.
“While vegie chips might be marketed as a crispy alternative to vegetables, these products are not a good replacement for eating five serves of vegetables every day.
“Not only are most vegie chips high in salt, they are also ultra-processed.”
Ms Sartori said salt content was not the sole concern, with some products also containing high amounts of sugar and saturated fat.
“Four of the products contained more than 20 per cent sugar, with one packet of broccoli florets containing almost 40 per cent sugar,” she said
“With end-of-the-year parties now in full swing, we urge people to try healthier options like fresh vegetables and tasty dips like hummus or tzatziki, or if you do decide to buy a packet of vegie chips, look for products with less than 400mg per 100g.”
