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Many so-called 'high-fibre' products contain less roughage than other brands of bread or biscuits, a Consumer Council study has found.

According to Food and Drug Administration regulations in the United States, food must contain at least 5 grams of fibre per serving before it can claim to be a high-fibre product. Hong Kong, however, has no legal definition of what constitutes high fibre.

The council studied 20 brands of bread and biscuits, seven of which were claimed to be high or rich in fibre. None had more than 3.9 grams of fibre per serving.

The three brands of 'high-fibre' bread - Taipan Natural Wheat, Roman Meal 12 Grain and Life Bread High Fibre - only contained an average of 2.56 grams of fibre per serving, compared to 3 grams for the other six brands.

The four 'high-fibre' biscuits contained an average of 1.22 grams of fibre, while the other seven brands averaged 1.34 grams.

Matthew Ng, chairman of the council's publicity and community relations committee, said: 'Ironically, the [biscuit] sample with the lowest fibre contents [costing $2.60/serving] bears a 'high-fibre' claim but the sample with the highest fibre [$1.40/serving] bears no such claim.'

The council said the lack of a legal definition in Hong Kong was exacerbated by the fact that products are not required to list their nutritional contents.

Connie Lau Yin-hung, head of council research, said: 'Hong Kong only requires products claiming to be high in nutritional content to list the percentage content of the nutrient.'

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department is considering investigating the products the council tested. 'The government is considering whether a labelling system is needed in Hong Kong,' a spokesman said.

Registered dietician Priscilla Lau Li-yi said most people in Hong Kong did not have enough fibre in their diet. 'People need 25 to 30 grams of fibre each day and the fibre must come from different sources. This means vegetables, fruits and whole grains from real wholemeal products,' she said.



'High-fibre' claims for bread and biscuits prove hard to swallow