Street food is a major source of food in middle- and low-income countries as it is highly accessible and inexpensive. However, it is usually perceived as unhealthy due to the high levels of sodium, sugar, and fat content. However, there is little analytical data on the sodium levels in the street foods of Malaysia. This study started with a survey to determine the most frequently available street foods in every state in Malaysia, followed by food sampling and the analysis of sodium (reported mg/100 g sample). Street food in the snack category contained the highest amount of sodium (433 mg), followed by main meals (336.5 mg) and desserts (168 mg). Approximately 30% of the local street food in this study was deep-fried. Snacks from processed food (8%) contained high sodium content (500−815 mg). Fried noodles and noodle soup contained the highest amount of sodium (>2000 mg sodium) based on per serving. Most main dishes that use a variety of sauces contained high amounts of sodium. These findings were recorded in the Malaysian Food Composition Database. Moreover, this study could raise awareness and serve as baseline data for future interventions on the sodium content in the street foods of Malaysia.
Despite growing evidence of increased saturated and trans fat contents in street foods, little is known about their fatty acid (FA) compositions. This study aimed to analyse the saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and trans fatty acids (TFAs) content of 70 selected and most commonly available street foods in Malaysia. The street foods were categorised into main meals, snacks, and desserts. TFAs were not detected in any of the street foods. Descriptively, all three categories mainly contained SFAs, followed by MUFAs, and PUFAs. However, the one-way ANOVA testing showed that the differences between each category were insignificant (p > 0.05), and each FA was not significantly different (p > 0.05) from one to another. Nearly half of the deep-fried street foods contained medium to high SFAs content (1.7 g/100 g-24.3 g/100 g), while the MUFAs were also high (32.0-44.4%). The Chi-square test of association showed that the type of preparation methods (low or high fat) used was significantly associated (p < 0.05) with the number of SFAs. These findings provide valuable information about fat composition in local street foods for the Malaysian Food Composition Database and highlight the urgency to improve nutritional composition.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the major cause of death among Malaysians. Reduction of salt intake in populations is one of the most cost-effective strategies in the prevention of CVDs. It is very feasible as it requires low cost for implementation and yet could produce a positive impact on health. Thus, salt reduction initiatives have been initiated since 2010, and two series of strategies have been launched. However, there are issues on its delivery and outreach to the target audience. Further, strategies targeting out of home sectors are yet to be emphasized. Our recent findings on the perceptions, barriers and enablers towards salt reduction among various stakeholders including policy-makers, food industries, food operators, consumers and schools showed that eating outside of the home contributed to high salt intake. Foods sold outside the home generally contain a high amount of salt. Thus, this supplementary document is being proposed to strengthen the Salt Reduction Strategy to Prevent and Control Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) for Malaysia 2021-2025 by focussing on the strategy for the out-of-home sectors. In this supplementary document, the Monitoring, Awareness and Product (M-A-P) strategies being used by the Ministry of Health (MOH) are adopted with a defined outline of the plan of action and indicators to ensure that targets could be achieved. The strategies will involve inter-sectoral and multi-disciplinary approaches, including monitoring of salt intake and educating consumers, strengthening the current enforcement of legislation on salt/sodium labelling and promoting research on reformulation. Other strategies included in this supplementary document included reformulation through proposing maximum salt targets for 14 food categories. It is hoped that this supplementary document could strengthen the current the Salt Reduction Strategy to Prevent and Control NCDs for Malaysia 2021-2025 particularly, for the out-of-home sector, to achieve a reduction in mean salt intake of the population to 6.0 g per day by 2025.