Fats in ready-to-eat foods sold at Korean major amusement parks

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the fat, saturated fatty acid and trans fatty acid contents in ready-to-eat foods distributed at amusement parks to develop an appropriate food safety management system for children. Design/methodology/approach In all, 322 ready-to-eat food samples categorized into 17 types were collected from nine Korean amusement parks and their fat, saturated fatty acid and trans fatty acid contents were assessed. Findings Fat, saturated fatty acid and trans fatty acid contents were relatively high in flour-based products. On the basis of the Korea Food and Drug Administration classification, the samples in 12 categories were classified as high-fat foods. The samples in nine categories were classified as high-saturated fatty acid foods. Most samples also contained non-negligible levels of trans fatty acids. The fat, saturated fatty acid and trans fatty acid contents of samples even in the same category varied markedly. Social implications This research will inform the necessity of an appropriate safety management system for ready-to-eat foods distributed at amusement. Originality/value Although the fat contents of foods distributed around school area were often observed, the potential risk of those in ready-to-eat foods distributed at amusement parks have rarely been assessed. As patterns of food intakes vary world-widely, a periodic monitoring data like this study may be useful for international organizations and researchers.