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Pillsbury Cookie Cake Tutti Frutti is a new product launched in India recently.
This product is marketed mainly for kids. This is a simple starch and sugar heavy processed food product with a lot of additives.
The product is a packaged food containing preservatives and also hydrogenated vegetable oils and edible vegetable fats (usually another name for hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, which contain trans-fats. The brand however, labels this as a zero trans fat product.
Due to the presence of hydrogenated vegetable fat and for other reasons mentioned below, we do not consider Pillsbury Cookie Cake as recommended food. Due to its high sugar and simple starches content we believe that this food must be avoided by diabetics and patients of lifestyle diseases.
Pillsbury Cookie Cake contains edible vegetable oil-Palm oil which is considered to be a safer alternative in comparison to other vegetable oils, palmolein is primarily saturated fat, it is better suited for cooking. It does not have too much PUFA, which can get oxidized under heat and is often rendered toxic.
However, last year, the safety authority delivered a scientific report that current levels of glycerol-based process contaminants found in palm oil are a “potential health concern.” Animal studies have identified these contaminants, which are formed when vegetable oils are heated to high temperatures and then refined, as both genotoxic (damaging to DNA) and carcinogenic (causing cancer). Of all vegetable oils, palm oil was found to have the highest levels of these contaminants. At high levels of exposure, these contaminants are a health hazard for all age groups, the authority concluded, expressing particular concern for infants, toddlers and children under the age of 10.
The foodnetindia rating for this product :-
foodnetindia safety rating: 4 – (On a scale of 1 to 10 from very unsafe to very safe)
The cake contains 38.5 gm of sugar per 100 gm serving, which is high, and most people don’t stop at 1 serving but consume more of it in one sitting. This will make the sugar content very high and detrimental to health.
As the cake is made of refined wheat flour or maida, it has a high glycaemic simple starch base. In our opinion, this food is unsuitable for diabetics and also for those who have lifestyle disease.
The product contains Hydrogenated vegetable fat-Palm, Partially Hydrogenated and Hydrogenated fats are a source of trans fatty acids or “transfats”, which are harmful to health. Transfats increase the likelihood of heart disease, stroke, cancer and many other ailments.
foodnetindia wholesomeness rating: 4 – (On a scale of 1 to 10 from very unbalanced nutrition profile to excellent nutrition profile)
The cake contains milk solids but also contains a lot of ingredients which may not be good for health. High sugar quantity of 38.5 gm per 100 gm which is a worrying factor as kids and adults both eat such foods in huge quantity without worrying about sugar intake.
The salt quantity in it is 1.5 gm per 100 gm pack, which is high considering this is a cake. High sodium diets have been known to be the cause of high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. The recommended daily intake of salt is between 1-3 grams.
Ingredients of concern in Pillsbury Cookie Cake-Tutti frutti
- Glucose Syrup
- Hydrogenated vegetable fat-palm
Sugar
This food product does not specify which sugar has been used. This is also important because different sugars have different metabolic effects. For example, Sucrose (Cane Sugar) is very different from Fructose (Fruit Sugar). Some foods use high fructose corn syrup which may be harmful in much lower quantities than sucrose. We believe that it is not responsible behaviour for a brand to not clearly state what ingredients have been used.
Sugar is a carbohydrate found naturally in a host of different foods from lactose in milk to the fructose in fruit and honey. In fact, we need some sugar in our diets to supply ready energy to fuel our muscles and keep our brains active. The problem is that many processed foods have added sugar which supplies energy in the form of calories – and very little else. This means our body has to draw on the nutrients from the rest of our diet to process it and this can affect our health, including our immunity – leaving us more prone to bugs and colds. A high intake of sugar causes our blood sugar levels to shoot up, giving us that feel-good ‘high’ followed by a crashing slump which leaves us tired, irritable and craving more sugary foods. It’s a vicious cycle that may be contributing to our weight problems as well as health concerns like diabetes and heart disease.
Glucose Syrup
Glucose syrup, also known as confectioners glucose, is a syrup made from the hydrolysis of starch. Glucose is a sugar. Excessive sugar consumption is linked to a wide variety of metabolic diseases.
Salt
The salt quantity in it is 1.5 gm per 100 gm pack, which is high considering this is a cake. High sodium diets have been known to be the cause of high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. The recommended daily intake of salt is between 1-3 grams.
Hydrogenated Vegetable Fat
Partially Hydrogenated and Hydrogenated fats are a source of trans fatty acids or “transfats”, which are harmful to health. Transfats increase the likelihood of heart disease, stroke, cancer and many other ailments.
Transfats are toxic and some cities like New York have banned them from use in restaurants.
Transfats have been shown to consistently be associated, in an intake-dependent way, with risk of coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death. They may also be responsible for alzheimer’s disease, cancer, liver disease and many more ailments.
Hydrogenated fat is widely used. We see it listed in the ingredients of margarine, biscuits, cakes, frozen meals, fried foods, sweets, crisps, fish fingers and many dairy products. It’s popular with food manufacturers because it gives food structure and does not feel or taste oily.
Ingredients present in Pillsbury Cookie Cake Tutti Frutti which are not a concern:
-
- Wheat Flour,
- Papaya cubes
- Citric acid IN 330
- Milk Solids,
- Fructose,
- Emulsifier( IN 322),
- Glycerol IN 422
- Water,
- Starch
- Baking Powder,
- Calcium Carbonate,
- Emulsifier IN 471, IN 475, IN 433
- Leavening Agent(IN 500(i),INS341(i)),
- Stabilizers(INS415, INS410),
- Vitamin D
- Food Colour IN 110, IN 102
Disclaimer – The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information. foodnetindia encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.
The ingredients list of the products may have changed since this page was published. Consumers are encouraged to read warnings, labels, ingredient lists, etc.
Replies, if any, from the brand, will be published here ‘As is’