VIETNAM NUTRITIONAL PORTAL
Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Reunion Festival, is an occasion for people to reunite, gather with relatives, express and show their care for each other. Moon cakes are an indispensable spiritual food during this holiday, so Mid-Autumn Festival is considered the season of moon cakes.
Although it is only the 7th lunar month, as usual, agents and stores are bustling to import moon cakes with many varieties. According to statistics, there are about 50 brands, hundreds of varieties, estimated output increased by 10-15% in 2016 (over 5,000 tons of cakes were produced in 2015). Many product lines, types and prices of moon cakes serve the diverse needs of consumers (for gifts, for personal use), in addition, there are types of cakes for special groups (such as people with diabetes, overweight/obesity, high blood pressure). Moon cakes are produced from 3 sources: Moon cakes of companies (brands), of private manufacturers (handmade), of families who produce them themselves (called home-made cakes). In the past, there were only traditional moon cakes and baked cakes with mixed fillings, but now there are many types of cakes such as: roasted chicken, Chinese sausage, abalone, shiitake mushrooms, sea cucumbers, eggs... to taro, green beans, lotus seeds, coconut milk, jelly, cashews, sesame... and some special cakes for people on a diet: diabetes, overweight, obesity,... Traditional moon cakes are often monotonous, have little flavor, unattractive packaging, even very sketchy, high sweetness and high fat, keeping the traditional features, and being a family heirloom, they are admired by the elderly and children. In addition, home-made cakes are increasingly popular and prevalent, not really beautiful in appearance but score points with creativity, novelty, suitability to the family's preferences, especially knowing the origin of each food ingredient. Young people often like modern cakes, beautiful designs, many colors, many types suitable for users, which are often products manufactured by companies.
In the past, moon cakes were produced in small quantities, mainly for children (Mid-Autumn Festival - Children's Festival). Therefore, Mid-Autumn Festival is the occasion for every family to shop and display the Mid-Autumn Festival feast, in which sticky rice cakes and baked cakes are indispensable. This is the occasion for parents and relatives to show their love and care for children, they can "watch the moon" and "break the feast", eat moon cakes and many traditional toys,... From the first to the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, many people buy moon cakes to offer to their ancestors, grandparents, parents, teachers, friends, relatives and other benefactors. And today, Mid-Autumn Festival is not only for children but also for adults, even Mid-Autumn Festival is "varied" to serve the need for gifts (a box of expensive cakes and a bottle of strong wine). According to the plan, the number of cakes produced this year is about 5.5 to 6 tons, not to mention the number of private and family production. Because of the large quantity, companies had to produce several months in advance to meet the market demand, even though the normal shelf life of this product is only 1 - 2 months. The profit of moon cakes is very high, companies compete to produce large quantities, high selling prices to compensate for the discount for agents of about 30%, so cakes are sold everywhere, the conditions for preserving cakes and the points of sale do not ensure food safety.
As usual, on this occasion, consumers always ask questions about product quality, food safety, nutritional value, origin of ingredients, etc., which gives headaches to consultants, experts, managers, and the answers still do not satisfy the community's expectations during each Tet holiday.
Regarding the nutritional composition of moon cakes: Moon cakes are very sweet and fatty, so they provide a lot of energy. Energy from sugar and fat, for underweight children is still tolerable, for overweight/obese children and people with chronic diseases related to nutrition, it is a big health risk. Skinny children do not like to eat them much, on the contrary, overweight/obese children like them, even the sweeter and fattier the cake is, the more they like it. Therefore, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, all the previous training and dieting efforts are considered useless. There is a lot of sugar and fat in the cake, except for a few types for dieters, sugar and fat create a characteristic flavor and are also a means of preservation. Regarding the nutritional composition of a moon cake with mixed fillings of about 170 grams, it provides 566 Kcal, 16.3 g protein, 6.6 g lipid, 110.2 g glucid; 1 moon cake with 1 green bean egg about 176g provides 648 Kcal (energy 2 - 2.5 times more than a bowl of beef noodle soup). In addition, 1 176g mixed baked cake provides 706 kcal, 18g protein, 31.5g lipid and 87.5g glucid; 1 176g green bean baked cake with 1 egg provides 648 Kcal, 19.5g protein, 27.5g lipid, 80.6g glucid. The amount of starch in 1 moon cake/1 baked cake is equal to 2 - 3 bowls of rice (1 bowl of rice 258g), the sugar is mainly in the form of fast-absorbing sugar causing rapid increase in blood sugar. If eaten too much, overweight/obese children or children with impaired glucose tolerance can cause diabetes. For children with poor appetite, when eating a piece of cake when hungry, the increase in blood sugar will make children lose their appetite for the main meal, and make them lose their appetite, causing malnutrition. Most of the fat in cakes from fatty meat is saturated fat that causes many harmful effects, fat from melon seeds, cashews, sesame has a little beneficial unsaturated fatty acids. The amount of fat in a moon cake is 1-2 times the amount of fat in a bowl of beef noodle soup/chicken noodle soup. The protein in baked cakes is quite high, usually animal protein, if not preserved well, they can easily go rancid, moldy, causing poisoning. The vitamins in cakes are not much, and during processing and preservation, they are also significantly reduced.
Eating cakes is difficult to digest due to the high fat and animal protein content, so only give your child one piece (1/8 of a cake) after a meal. Sticky rice cakes easily stick to the teeth, causing tooth decay. After eating, rinse your mouth immediately. For obese children, limit the amount of cake they eat per day, and the daily food intake will be reduced by the portion provided by the cake. If you eat half a sticky rice cake/baked cake, you should reduce the amount of rice and food intake per day by about 1 bowl and the corresponding amount of food, and increase the amount of green vegetables to expel fat and prevent blood sugar from rising rapidly. If you do not reduce your intake, you should walk for an additional 30 minutes to burn off excess energy. For people with chronic diseases related to nutrition, you should choose products for people on a low-sugar and low-fat diet, although you should still eat very little to control the disease.
Regarding the food safety of moon cakes: Moon cakes are a product with a variety of foods, spices, food additives (colorants, preservatives, anti-mold agents),... Each type of raw material has the risk of food safety: spoiled food, food contaminated with mold, pathogenic bacteria (mold, staphylococcus, cholera, dysentery,...), contaminated with toxic chemicals (growth promoters, antibiotics, preservatives, plant protection chemicals, prohibited colorants,...). Failure to control raw materials, and failure to ensure hygiene during processing: from raw material preparation, processing location, processing tools, as well as hygiene and health of the processor will create poor quality products, not ensuring safety for users. As we can see, there is a desiccant packet in the moon cake, but the cake cannot be preserved for long (maximum 2 months after leaving the factory). For profit, some manufacturers and businesses disregard regulations, stages and processes on food safety, making products susceptible to contamination, which can cause acute and chronic food poisoning, food-borne diseases and affect the health and lives of consumers.
To ensure the food safety of moon cakes, consumers are an important and decisive factor. By choosing the product, choosing the manufacturer, choosing the storage and sales location of the business, and especially when using the cake, consumers contribute to self-control of the food safety of moon cakes, contributing to protecting the health of themselves and their families. When choosing moon cakes to ensure food safety, consumers need to pay attention to the following criteria:
Regarding labels: Products must have a clear origin, have the name of the manufacturing facility, address of the manufacturing location, instructions for use and preservation,... In particular, the product must have a production date and an expiration date, it is best to use new products from the factory.
Regarding quality: Consumers choose products that are not crushed, deformed, have packaging that is not torn, have no unusual color, or have a strange smell. Do not choose or buy products that are floating around or of unknown origin.