A British study looked at the safety and nutrition of Chinese and Indian takeout food across the country. It was found that many of these menu items contained ‘shocking’ levels of sugar, fat, and salt.
According to the report, a typical carryout portion of chicken tikka masala, a popular dish at Indian restaurants, contained 116 percent of the recommended daily limit for saturated fat, and 92 percent of the recommended limit for salt. Meanwhile, sweet and sour chicken with fried rice averaged 119 percent of the recommended limit for salt, and 16 full teaspoons of sugar. Investigators also found that many of the sauces used on the food contained higher-than-legal levels of food colorings.
Across Britain, 36 of the restaurants tested were told that the customer had a nut allergy. At every restaurant, the testers were assured that the takeout food did not contain nuts. Yet, alarmingly, one in five contained either almonds or peanuts. This could have caused a fatal allergic reaction, had the tester actually been allergic to nuts. According to the report, “Local authorities should ensure further work with these ethnic kitchens to reduce the occurrence of providing such false information.” Paul Bettison, of the government agency that coordinated the study, said: “Including nuts when you’ve been told a person suffers from a nut allergy is unforgivable, it could potentially kill them.”