Beefing up the fight to ward off heart attacks

By MARTIN JOHNSTON

The Heart Foundation is trying to satisfy the tastebuds of Pacific Islanders and help extend lives by pushing a reduced-fat brand of tinned corned beef.

Mutton flaps, brisket, tinned corned beef and coconut cream are choice foods for many Pacific palates.

But they are loaded with saturated fats, which contribute to the premature deaths of many people from heart attacks.

Mafi Funaki, a dietician for the foundation's Pacific Islands Heartbeat programme, said one of its successes had been Hellaby's introduction of a reduced-fat line of corned beef.

It was 10 to 14 per cent fat - about half the amount of the standard product, but it did not qualify for a heart-healthy "Pick the Tick" endorsement from the foundation because of its high salt content.

She said some Pacific people had switched to the reduced-fat brand, introduced in 1998 after years of effort by foundation staff, but there was a long way to go and it was not as widely available in shops as some of the high-fat brands.

She said if the reduced-fat version was not available, cooks could lower diners' fat intake by heating the can in boiling water to melt the fat and draining some off. But others increased their risk by cooking their corned beef in coconut cream.

Diets high in saturated fats meant that a quarter of Pacific Island men and half of women were obese, which led to Pacific people's high rates of heart disease and diabetes.

Health Ministry figures show that 8 per cent of Pacific Island people in New Zealand have been diagnosed with diabetes, compared with 3 per cent of Pakeha.

Statistics also show that Pacific Island people - and Maori - have twice the mortality rate of Pakeha.

Heart disease, which is linked to diet, is a significant cause of death among Pacific people and one which is potentially avoidable.

Ms Funaki told a Public Health Association conference in Auckland that although mutton flaps cost about $4 a kg and lamb chops about $7, only 10 per cent of the chops were lost in trimming off the fat, compared with half the flaps.

"Hence it is cheaper to buy the lamb chops. However, Pacific families who are on a very tight budget will weigh up the health consequences, which will occur later, with the amounts of foods to feed the family until the next pay day."

Most would "choose to address the more pressing issue" - feeding the family with fattier meats - ignoring the health effects.

So will low fat corned beef catch on?

Judging by reaction on the streets of Otara yesterday, Hellaby's "reduced fat" corned beef tastes better than its traditional counterpart ...

David Vainui - I prefer the reduced fat one because it's got less oil in it. With the other one you need something like taro to suck the oil up. I believe the less fat the better because people are getting overweight these days.

Maria Joseph - I eat corned beef about five times a month and it normally tastes salty. But the reduced fat one has less salt which I prefer. I think it would be much better to buy the reduced fat one.

Tasi Tatoi - I think it would be better to eat the reduced fat one. They taste pretty much the same but the original one tastes a little bit better. The one with less fat is a bit bland but people do have too much fat in their diet.

Lita Makaia - People who want to reduce the fat in their diet might choose that one but I like eating fatty food. I like the original one because it's saltier and because there's more fat it tastes better.

Renata Tuaau - They taste very similar but I think the one with less fat has more flavour than the other one. I would actually buy it because people do eat too much fat. It would taste nice with taro.

Nai Tuaau - I think the reduced fat one tastes nice and I like it better than the other one. It's less salty and doesn't taste as oily as the normal stuff. Yeah, I'd buy it.