Let’s not mince words about tarts’ sugar levels
‘Tis the season and, whether you like it or not, traditional fruit tarts or cake may feature in your celebrations.
Edmonds the brand, and especially their cookbook, has stood the test of time with most New Zealand kitchens sporting a copy and some Edmonds’ products in their pantry.
During the Christmas period, Edmonds create tarts that are available in exciting flavours.
But let’s shine a light on ‘‘Edmonds – Traditional Fruit Mince Tarts with Manuka Honey’’.
Off the bat I’d imagine they are high in sugar, fat and sodium. But I’d also forecast these nutritional components to vary across brands, or the recipe used. Let’s break a label reading rule by focusing on one single tart rather than the per 100g column.
I’m interested in fat, sugar, sodium and, because it’s on the front of the pack, how much Manuka honey they actually use.
There is 8.5g of total fat per tart, of which 4.6g is saturated. So, each tart is close to 13 per cent fat. And as a general rule, less than 10 per cent is the aim. So, they’re a little high, but not extremely.
It’s easier to refer to the 100g column for sodium. These tarts contain 195mg/100g which is between 120-600mg/100g.
This means the Heart Foundation would classify them as a medium sodium product. Like fat, they’re a little high, but not too far off.
There is a total of 42.8g of carbohydrates in each tart, of which 26.9g is labelled ‘sugar’. This 26.9g could either be added or from fructose, which is a natural sugar in fruit.
It’s hard to know, but it’s fair to assume some has been added, especially as sugar is the second ingredient listed in the fruit filling, with glucose and honey also listed.
To put 42.8g of carbohydrates into perspective, four slices of the ‘Burgen – Fabulous Fibre’ bread has 47g of carbohydrates, which would sustain you longer than one tart.
The presence of manuka honey is highlighted on the front of the pack. But only 1 per cent of the filling, which is 49 per cent of the tart, contains a ‘honey blend’ and only a fraction of that blend is manuka honey.
So, apparently there is very little manuka honey in these tarts.
Maybe not a surprise, these Christmas tarts are likely high in added sugar. Their sodium and total fat content could be considered medium. But most importantly, don’t be fooled by trusted brands. What they highlight as being a key component may hardly be present at all.
Have a blast this Christmas and enjoy your food.