Matamata operators who attended industry training have reduced average fat per gram of hot chips from 9.6 per cent to a staggering 7.8 per cent, well below the national average of 10.8 per cent.

Following a successful initiative from industry organisation The Chip Group, customers in the small Waikato town can be confident many local chip retailers are now serving tastier lower fat chips.

“As a result of the training 1711kg of fat will be removed from the Matamata food supply per year,” said Glenda GourlgGourley, Chair of The Chip Group. “This equates to about 3 trailer-loads of fat!”

The training hosted by The Chip Group in February educated staff from 10 take-away shops on cooking deep-fried chips to best practice industry standards – reducing fat and salt content to ensure the crispiest, most delicious results.

“We chose Matamata to participate in this initiative because it has a large number of chip shops in a relatively small area, which are frequented by locals and many tourists throughout the year,” said Glenda.

Local operator Sky Peng got a lot out of the training. “I didn’t realise simple things like cooking at the right temperature and draining properly could have such a big impact on my chips,” he said.

“By following industry standards I have been able to lower our fat content alot – and this makes a big difference to my customers.”

Samples were collected by mystery chip shoppers prior to each retailer being invited to complete the training, and again after they had completed the training to compile the data.

“As a nation we love hot chips – and Matamata has shown that almost every hot chip retailer can improve the standard and quality of their chips if they are trained and follow best practice industry standards,” said Glenda. “The training is available free and online.”

The initiative preceded the 2013 Best Chip Shop Competition, which invites chip retailers to enter their hot chips in a national competition to be crowned New Zealand’s 2013 Best Chip Shop.

Entries for the 2013 Best Chip Shop Competition are now open and available online at www.chipgroup.co.nz/best-chip.

This year the 2013 Best Chip Shop Competition acknowledges all operators who are achieving fat content lower than 9 per cent. They will earn a Highly Commended Award to display instore, making it easier for consumers to pick good outlets.

For more information about the Chip Group, best practice standards training and the 2013 Best Chip Competition, please visit www.thechipgroup.co.nz.

ENDS

Who is the Chip Group?

The Chip Group is an industry collaboration made up of Potatoes New Zealand, chip and oil manufacturers and equipment suppliers. Our activities are supported by health and government members such as the Heart Foundation and The Ministry of Health.

Our overriding goal is to improve the nutritional status of deep-fried chips served by New Zealand foodservice by reducing fat (total and saturated) and salt content.

More information can be found at www.thechipgroup.co.nz.

Media release

12 April 2013

The Chip Group Ltd

For more information/media enquiries, please contact:

Dan Walraven

Ideas Shop

04 499 8995

Spuddy was on tour last week, travelling south to join the fun at the Matamata Town Makeover!

On Monday 25th February The Chip Group held the Training Seminar for all local retailers selling hot chips in Matamata. Training and Education Manager – Kate Underwood and Champion Chippie – Michael Huang ran the seminar in both English and Chinese and are pictured here with Spuddy! They had a great turn out with loads of industry support including McCains Foods Ltd, Mr Chips and Dean Langall-Read from AS Wilcox.

“It was really great to see the enthusiasm from operators who were learning about their role in the health of their community, and that by making slight changes in the way they cook their chips they can make a significant improvement to the health of their customers” says Kate.

One of the key messages from the training was pointing out the ‘danger zone’ for operators cooking hot chips. When fresh our beloved potatoes have as little as 0.1-0.2% fat, after being processed into chips by McCains or Mr Chips they are around 4-5% fat, but once they reach your fish and chip wrapper they can be anywhere from 7-22% fat – depending on the level of skill of the operator.

Matamata operators were very excited to start putting their new skills into practice and start cooking ‘BETTER CHIPS’ for locals and tourists passing through. Here is Spuddy again with local chippies proudly holding their training certificates.

To find out more about The Chip Group head to their website here. And watch this space for a further update on the Matamata Town Makeover coming soon…

It’s already known as the home of Hobbiton, now Matamata is set to go on the map as being the ‘Best Chip Town in New Zealand’ too.

The town has been selected for a pioneering initiative to ensure every outlet selling deep-fried chips cooks them to best practice standards for the food service industry – reducing fat and salt content and ensuring the crispest, most delicious result.

Food and Nutrition educator Glenda Gourley, Chair of The Chip Group, which works to improve the nutritional status of deep-fried chips sold in New Zealand, said that every hot chip retailer in Matamata will now be invited to take part in training, with organisers aiming for 100 per cent participation.

The group has been working with Matamata Council, Matamata Public Relations Association and health promoters Heart Foundation, Sport Waikato, and Pohlen Hospital on the scheme.

“We selected Matamata because it has 20 retailers selling hot chips in a relatively small area, catering both for residents and the many tourists visiting the area,” said Glenda.

“It is a very exciting opportunity for retailers too because chips cooked to best industry practice are crisper, tastier and lower in energy. With everyone cooking to those standards, it really will be the best chip town in New Zealand.”

Chip Group researchers have found chips in New Zealand, not cooked to industry standards, contain up to 20 per cent fat, compared to only seven to nine per cent for chips cooked to industry standards.

‘Mystery chip shoppers’ have already visited every one of the 20 outlets selling hot chips in Matamata, collecting samples for laboratory testing. The Chip Group will be repeating the exercise for comparison, following the training, and expects there to be a significant reduction in the fat content of hot chips sold in the town.

“New Zealanders eat millions of portions of chips each week,” said Glenda. “By training hot chip retailers to reduce the fat content of their chips, simply through improving their cooking techniques, we can ensure better chips – and that’s good for those retailers’ businesses too.”

The Tips for Better Chips training seminar will be run by Kate Underwood, The Chip Group’s training and education manager, alongside New Zealand’s champion chippie Michael Huang, owner of Oppies Takeaway in Rotorua, winner of the New Zealand’s Best Chip Shop title.

The session will cover everything from chip and portion sizes to salt use, the best oils to use and at what temperature and how to ‘bang, shake and hang’ baskets following frying to ensure as much fat is drained from the chips as possible.

Participants will receive a certificate to display in their shop showing they have taken part in training to serve healthier chips.

The Chip Group is made up of a range of food service industry providers and suppliers as well as support from health and Government agencies such as the Heart Foundation and The Ministry of Health.

For more information about the Chip Group and the 2013 Town Make-over please visit www.chipgroup.co.nz

ENDS

Background on the Chip Group

The Chip Group is made up of a range of players in the food service industry, such as potato growers, chip manufacturers, oil suppliers, equipment suppliers and media. We also have the support of multiple health and government members such as the Heart Foundation and The Ministry of Health.

Our overriding goal is to improve the nutritional status of deep-fried chips served by New Zealand foodservice* by reducing fat (total and saturated) and salt content.

For more information/media enquiries, please contact:

Jillian Keogh

Ideas Shop

04 499 8995

or

Kate Underwood

The Chip Group

02 206 68711

We know Kiwi’s LOVE potatoes, so you can be sure your Valentine will to. Include potatoes as part of your valentines menu this Thursday 14th. If you choose to spoil your special someone with spuds here are a few romantic ways to win them over!

Spice up your morning and treat them to Breakfast in bed with these Mexican potatoes and eggs.

Whisk them away to Morroco for the evening by preparing these Moroccan Potatoes with cumin and yoghurt chicken.

Make them blush by adding these flavourful and rosy red Blushing wedges to a juicy piece of your finest steak.

Or simply whip up this quick Warm Potato, capsicum and bacon salad, so you can spend more time with your valentine.

Also if you are taking your other half out for an Al-fresco date of Fish and Chips, look out for operators displaying The Chip Group Training Certificates – so you know you are getting better chips!

Happy Valentines Day from Spuddy and the team at Potatoes NZ! xx

The 2011 National Chip Survey revealed some great results for The Chip Group particularly with regards to sodium content. In June 2011 they measured a range of objectives in takeaway outlets throughout NZ and compared results to earlier surveys in 1999 and 2007.

Their best results came with Sodium as most retailers were achieving the target of a maximum sodium level of 170mg per 100g of chips.  This is brilliant news as a high intake of salt (sodium) increases the risk of heart disease/stroke- the single most common cause of death in New Zealand. Since 2007 sodium levels have significantly decreased. So customers asking for chips with less salt, or operators providing salt sachets seem to be the best ways to reduce this sodium content. Let’s hope we can all keep up the good work!

One aspect that was not achieved was the display of training certificates in takeaway outlets. In fact only a small number of certificates were visible so it seemed very few current retailers appeared to have trained. Hence the focus for The Chip Group this year is to offer FREE TRAINING throughout NZ for all takeaway outlets keen to up-skill their staff and improve their business.

Potatoes New Zealand are proud members of The Chip Group so we are always looking for ways to support the work they do. Keep a lookout for training opportunities in your region, encourage your local fish and chip shop to get involved in training and to contact Kate if they are interested in getting their staff chip-savvy! The Chip Group are here to help NZ businesses and most importantly ‘Work together to make Better Chips’.

New Zealand Potato growers and packers are hard at work in the paddocks of Pukekohe. They are doing a fine job at making sure the spuds at your local grocery or fresh market are good enough for you to eat! A few months ago I was given an extensive guided tour of three big names in the New Zealand Potato Industry.

Turners and Growers, Wilcox and Masters Produce are based in the Pukekohe region and all three do things a little differently. But for each of them producing top-quality potatoes that can be enjoyed all year round is their top priority. I experienced every step of the journey from paddock to plate. From watching the harvesting, pack-house tours, quick-guide to the machinery, quality control, cook-testing different varieties, right through to the packing process and delivery.

There is a lot more to learn about potatoes than you may think. Our website is packed full of information and provides everything you need to know about potatoes. So go and check it out! We have also been busy uploading some delicious new potato recipes, like this Cajun Style Steak and Chips!

The term ‘Fat free’ has been beaten to death in the food industry. But unlike most foods that claim to be ‘95% fat free’ – (another way for saying they contain 5% fat). Potatoes only have 0.1-0.2% fat, which is virtually nothing. Earning themselves a ‘Fat free’ label. However it all depends on the cooking technique. Deep frying potatoes adds a lot of fat and once cooked, some potato chips can contain up to 20 grams of fat per serve.

But if you just can’t resist the taste of a good chip, then look for chunkier cuts or potato wedges with the skin on. These soak up less fat than shoe-string or crinkle-cut chips and by keeping the skin on they retain all their good nutrients. Some pre-made chip brands are better than others and can be relatively low in fat with only 3-5%, even lower when oven-baked instead of fried.

Straight from the paddock a potato is just about free of fat, so the idea is to choose a cooking method that keeps the fat content low. Baking is a good option. Spray the potatoes with only a little oil and you can get that same crunchy result as you would if frying. Also try to choose recipes that don’t add excess fat and where possible substitute full fat ingredients with lower fat options such as low fat sour cream or using milk instead of cream. Try these yummy Lime and Chilli Wedges with Lamb Koftas a go. For a meal that is lower in fat and tastier than the fish and chips from your typical takeaway store.

This week marks ‘Chip Week’ in the UK, February 20th-26th, 2012. So help celebrate by checking out their collection of funky chip recipes through the decades, like these ones Here. Or have your hand at cooking or eating some of your own tasty Chips at home!

There is no doubt about it, us Kiwi’s love our hot Chips. Around 7 million serves of chips are cooked up and consumed here in NZ every week. With their high fat and salt, content, eating these every day can be very problematic to your health.  A few years back a bunch of guys at The Chip Group came up with a solution: To produce healthier potato chips in the hope to improve the health of this country.

The Chip Group is a New Zealand association which includes everyone involved in the production of a Potato Chip. From those growing the potato, to chip and oil manufacturers, to equipment suppliers right through to the cooking.  Their main goal is “To improve the nutritional status of deep-fried chips served by the New Zealand food service, by reducing fat (total and saturated) and salt content.” Read more about the great stuff they are doing here.

Check out this article in the January 2012 issue of the NZ Healthy Food Guide Magazine. (Page 37) Where they talk about the healthiest cooking techniques. Good to see they are supporting our message that the amount of fat in a Potato depends on the way you cook it!

According to our friends over at HFG. Here are the facts:

Per 100g of Potato.

Baked Jacket Potato: Fat = 0.3g. Straight from the paddock the Potato contains virtually no fat. Help keep it this way by choosing to bake your potato. Serve it with a dollop of light sour cream, or a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese for a delicious, low fat meal idea.

Peeled & Roasted Potato: Fat = 5g. You can lower this fat content even more by using spray oil instead of coating your potatoes. Also try to keep the skin on, as most of the good nutrients are kept closest to the skin.

Oven-Baked Wedges: Fat = 6g. There is a huge variation in fat content of pre-packaged chips and wedges, so be sure to compare between brands. Even better, choose to make your own home-made wedges using the spray oil technique. Here is a great recipe for Lime and Chilli Wedges.

Fat Chips from a Fish and Chip Shop: Fat = 9g. Generally the thicker the chip the less fat it will have. But cooking technique, including oil temp and adequate draining can have a huge impact on the fat content of deep fried chips. Some chips can contain up to 20g of fat per serve. Check out which takeaway shops near you are doing their bit to keep your chips the healthiest they can be-Here

Shoestring Fries: Fat = 15g. Thin-cut, shoestring fries and crinkle cut chips have more surface area and less potato than the chunkier versions so they are able to soak up far more fat! Some food outlets now give you a choice, go for the thicker cut varieties and save yourself up to 6 grams of fat per serve.

Potato Chips: Fat= 30g. Definitely not your best option when it comes to cooking and eating the spud. The further away from the paddock it gets and the thinner the chip, the more fat it contains. These can be a good snack option, but use only as a treat and eat them in moderation.

Here are some tips for cooking the best Baked Potato.

Glenda Gourley Potatoes NZ, Dave Pooch President NZIFST, Barbara Lusk Ministry of Health and Judith Morley-John Heart Foundation at the Food Industry Awards Ceremony

The Chip Group, which was set up to improve the nutrition of hot chips, was officially recognised for its work when it was presented with an Excellence Award by the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology (NZIFST) last night (Thursday 24 June 2010).

The annual Awards were established by NZIFST to recognize excellence and leadership in innovation and quality in the New Zealand food industry.
The Chip Group was presented with The Orica Chemnet Excellence in Leadership Award and was named as runner up of the NZIFST Excellence in Service Award for innovation and customer service.

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