Hong Kong: Healthy nori is not eaten freely, especially in children It is rich in iodine but 70% of the samples are high in sodium

Nori is rich in minerals and a source of iodine, and is often considered a healthy food
.
Lightweight and convenient, dried nori is not only a handy snack but is also commonly found in Asian cuisine, such as sushi, rice balls, Korean rice rolls, or as an ingredient in white porridge and rice
.
The Consumer Council tested 27 different types of ready-to-eat nori samples on the market and found that all of them were rich in iodine, and moderate consumption could help maintain metabolism, but excessive consumption may affect thyroid function
.
Among them, 4 samples of snack nori were labelled for infants and young children under 36 months old, and one of them consumed more than 90%
of the recommended daily intake for children aged 1 to 3 years old.
Parents should pay extra attention
when preparing meals with seaweed for their children.

 

Meanwhile, 70% (19 models) and nearly 40% (10) of the samples tested respectively achieved the "high sodium" and "high fat" food levels (i.
e.
more than 600 mg of sodium per 100 grams of solid food and more than 20 grams of total fat per 100 grams of food)
of the Centre for Food Safety (CFS).
Because the snack seaweed is crispy and delicious, it is easy to eat multiple servings at once, increasing the risk of excessive sodium and fat intake, especially for infants and young children
.

 

The 27 ready-to-eat nori samples tested included 18 snack seaweed, 8 sushi or rice ball seaweed, and 1 shredded seaweed, priced between $10 and $62 per pack, while the price per 100g ranged from $40.
6 to $386.
7, a difference of more than 8 times
.
However, the highest-priced sample of Snack Nori ($386.
7 per 100g) received the lowest overall rating of 3.
5 points, while some of the cheaper samples received an overall rating of 4, reflecting the availability of cheap and high-quality products in
the market.

 

In the test, 4 samples of snack nori were labelled for consumption by infants and young children under 36 months old, so they were infant food
.
The test items include the content of nutrients and 6 metal contaminants, and the difference
between the nutrient label value on the product packaging and the test result is also checked.

 

All samples were rich in iodine, but 1 exceeded the recommended daily intake for adults

 

Iodine is an essential mineral for maintaining the normal function of the thyroid gland and maintaining human metabolism; Iodine also helps infant brain nerve development and maturation
.
Severe iodine deficiency can lead to brain hypoplasia in the fetus or newborn and may increase the risk of
premature birth or miscarriage.
However, long-term intake of excessive iodine can affect thyroid function, such as leading to goiter, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, etc
.
The Council reminds that as the human body cannot store large amounts of iodine, consumers should eat
small amounts regularly.

 

Various human activities are causing climate change and causing the oceans to acidify.

In 2019, some studies suggested that ocean acidification may increase the iodine accumulation of seaweed, and the iodine content of seaweed growing in different waters may vary greatly
.

 

The test results showed that the iodine content of all the samples was "iodine-rich" food (not less than 45 micrograms per 100 grams of solid food) under the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulation ("Labelling Regulation"), with iodine content ranging
from 1,030 mcg to 34,600 mcg per 100g.
Each serving contains 10 mcg to 450 mcg of iodine, and moderate consumption can avoid insufficient
iodine intake.

 

The highest iodine content was a sample of seaweed for sushi or rice balls, containing 34,600 micrograms of iodine
per 100 grams.
It is estimated that eating 1 tablet (1.
3 grams) will consume 450 micrograms of iodine, which has exceeded the recommended daily intake for adults (120 micrograms) set by the Chinese Nutrition Society and reached 75% (600 micrograms)
of its recommended daily intake limit.
The iodine content consumed by eating 2 tablets (2.
6 grams) not only exceeds the recommended upper limit of the Chinese Nutrition Society, but also reaches 50% of the recommended upper limit of the World Health (no more than 30 micrograms of iodine per kilogram of body weight, which means that a 60 kg adult should not consume more than 1,800 micrograms of iodine per day).

Therefore, consumers should pay attention to the amount of seaweed before consuming it to avoid excessive iodine
intake.

 

1 claimed that 2 servings of the sample for infants and young children exceeded the maximum daily intake of iodine

 

Parents should pay special attention to the amount of nori consumed by infants and young children, as their upper limit of iodine intake is lower
than that of adults.
The four samples claimed to be intended for consumption by infants and young children under 36 months of age received 51 to 171 micrograms of iodine respectively, with the highest iodine content in the 1 model (containing 171 micrograms of iodine per serving), exceeding the recommended intake of about 90% for children aged 1 to 3 years.
Referring to the maximum iodine intake set by the Chinese Nutrition Society, Australia and New Zealand for young children, 342 micrograms of iodine was consumed in 2 servings (i.
e.
2 packs of 4 grams) of this sample, which exceeded the maximum daily intake
of iodine for children aged 1 to 10 years.

 

In addition to seaweed, many foods in the daily diet are also rich in iodine, including marine fish, seafood (e.
g.
shrimp, oysters, clams, etc.
), eggs, milk and dairy products
.
Taking the daily meal as an example, if you take 1 egg for breakfast (about 63 grams), 2 rice balls (each rice ball uses 1 slice of seaweed about 1 gram) for lunch, 1 box of 250ml skim milk as refreshments, and 1 red shirt fish (about 40 grams when not cooked, the size of 1 ping-pong ball) for dinner, the total intake of iodine is 172 micrograms, which has reached 191% of the recommended intake and 86%
of the tolerable maximum intake for children aged 4 to 6 years.
When preparing food for their children, parents should pay attention to the consumption of
seaweed and other ingredients rich in iodine.

 

Be careful about high-sodium and high-fat traps

 

Nori naturally contains salt , and if salt is added during the manufacturing process, its sodium content will be higher
.
Regular consumption of high-sodium foods increases the risk of
high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

 

The test results showed that 70% of the 19 samples had high sodium levels at the CFS, with sodium content ranging
from 614 mg to 4,840 mg per 100g.
In the snack nori sample, the sample with the highest sodium content per 100 grams ( 2,960 mg sodium ) consumed about 89 mg of sodium per tablet ( about 3 g ) , representing only 4%
of the recommended upper daily sodium intake for adults (less than 2,000 mg of sodium ) .
However, if you consume a whole box of 9 tablets at a time (about 3 grams each; 27 grams in total) will consume 799 mg of sodium, reaching 40%
of the upper daily sodium intake for adults.

 

In the non-snack nori samples, the sample with the highest sodium content contained 4,840 mg of sodium
per 100 g.
Although the intake of sodium (about 63 mg of sodium) from eating 1 tablet (about 1.
3 grams) is only 3% of the upper limit for adults, it has a greater
impact on children.
If parents use 2 slices of this seaweed to make rice balls for children, the sodium intake of nori alone is about 126 mg of sodium, which has accounted for 11% of the recommended intake for the prevention of non-communicable chronic diseases set by the Chinese Nutrition Society for children aged 4 to 6 years.

 

As for fat content, the test results showed that 10 (37%) snack nori samples were high-fat foods containing between 29.
1 and 60.
4 grams of fat
per 100g.
The 1 model with the highest fat content (60.
4g) had the highest
content of total fat, saturated fatty acids and trans fatty acids per 100g.
Nori may seem light and dry, it is easy to be mistaken for not having a high fat content, and there are many emerging snack seaweed styles, such as fried or heavily seasoned nori, and its high fat content cannot be ignored
.

 

Metal contaminants meet the upper safety limit, but nutrition labelling needs to be improved

 

The test also covered the content
of 6 metal contaminants, including cadmium, lead, chromium, total mercury, inorganic arsenic, and antimony.
2 to 5 metal contaminants were detected in all 27 models, and all samples were found to be carcinogens cadmium and inorganic arsenic, but none were detected with antimony
.
However, with reference to the tolerable intake and provisional tolerable intake limits for various metal pollutants set by Hong Kong, Chinese mainland, the European Union and the international community, the content of metal pollutants detected in all samples did not exceed the relevant standards, and normal consumption would not affect health
.

 

In terms of nutrition labelling, except for 4 samples, which could not be directly compared, the remaining samples had at least one nutrient with a discrepancy between the labeled value and the test results, which did not meet the requirements of the CFS's Technical Guidelines on Nutrition Labelling and Nutrition Claims, and the information of the relevant samples was submitted to the CFS for follow-up
.
Obtaining accurate product information is a fundamental right of consumers and the Council recommends that manufacturers should conduct regular testing of their products and update their labels based on the test results to ensure that consumers make informed choices
.

 

In addition, according to the Labelling Regulation, although prepackaged food is not required to indicate iodine content on nutrition labels, given that the iodine content of each nori sample varies considerably (ranging from 1,030 mcg to 34,600 mcg per 100 grams, a difference of nearly 33 times), the Council recommends manufacturers to indicate iodine content on the nutrition labelling of their products, especially nori products intended for infants and young children, for consumers' reference
.

 

Recommendations for eating ready-to-eat nori:

 

· Read the ingredient list and nutrition label on ready-to-eat nori products, pay attention to the intake of sodium, fat and sugar, and recommend choosing nori with plain flavor or less seasoning;

 

· Nori is light and delicious, and consumers should not consume more than the recommended serving amount;

 

· The Council reminds that taste is established in infancy, and regular consumption of foods with heavy flavors such as high sodium may cause infants and young children to develop the habit of preferring salty tastes.

 

· Although all the samples were high in protein (no less than 12g protein per 100g solid food) and high fibre (no less than 6g of dietary fibre per 100g of solid food), ready-to-eat nori should not be used as the main source of protein and fibre.

 

· The Hong Kong Dietitians Association recommends that consumers should consult a doctor as soon as possible if they suspect excessive iodine intake and symptoms such as neck swelling; Patients with kidney disease and patients taking warfarin (anticoagulants) should consult a doctor or registered dietitian
before consuming nori.