Photograph: Roger Tooth/Guardian
This Valentine's Day it would seem that chips not music are the food of love, if you believe the hype surrounding National Chip Week, which starts today. The event - in its 15th year - sets out to convince the public that chips can be part of a healthy balanced diet.
So what exactly is the reasoning behind this claim? Well, according to the Love Chips website, fish and chips are more healthy than other popular takeaways. For example, chicken tikka masala with pilau rice and sweet and sour pork with egg fried rice apparently contain around twice as much saturated fat - and far more calories - than a portion of cod and chips.
So what do doctors make of this? Tomorrow the Association of the Study of Obesity (ASO) holds a conference in Middlesbrough, the childhood obesity capital of the UK. Spokeswoman Dr Becky Lang says thick chips, potato wedges and oven chips are usually low in far so can be considered part of a healthy diet. But takeaway chips - particularly the thin French fries served by the likes of McDonald's and Burger King - are high in saturated fat and trans fats, which raise cholesterol and increase the risk of heart disease.
According to the Medical Research Council, while typical oven-baked chips have only 4.8 grammes of fat - including 1.8g saturated fat - per 100g portion, takeaway chips cooked in dripping contain 12.5g of fat, including 6.8g of saturated fat. French fries have the highest fat content - 15.5g - though slightly less saturated fat than chip shop chips cooked in animal fat - 5.8g.
It seems as if the chip industry will need to change its ways, or at least cooking methods, before they'll convince us chips are good for us. A bit of education wouldn't go amiss either. Research for the British Heart Foundation last year found that 36% of 8-14-year-olds didn't know chips were made from potatoes. The poll of 1,000 children revealed 10% thought chips were made mainly of oil, while others suggested eggs, flour and even apples. Mind you, the kids might not be as stupid as they seem because Burger King fries are only 86% potato, containing 11 other ingredients including corn syrup and vegetable oil.
So if you're planning a romantic meal you might be better off taking advice from the Food Standards Agency.
