Is turkey ham as healthy as we think? NOM-051-SCFI/SSA-2010

Abstract

Turkey ham is a popular food in the Mexican diet, its industrial processing has allowed access for general consumption; It is defined as the food product made exclusively with meat from turkey thighs, declared fit for human consumption by the responsible authority of the Meliagridis gallo-pavo species. As ham is a food with a high sodium content, the daily consumption of this food could have repercussions on health, so its intake should be moderate. The update of NOM-051-SCFI / SSA-2010 has established the guidelines to guide the population towards responsible consumption by adding warning stamps ``excess kcals, saturated fats, trans fats, sodium and sugars” in the front labeling of food products. The objective of this study was to analyze the nutritional content of nine commercial brands of turkey ham taking as a reference the recent modifications of the NOM-051-SCFI / SSA-2010 for the labeling of food products. All products evaluated merit at least one excess sodium warning stamp and only one of the products must have two nutritional warning stamps (“excess saturated fat” and “excess sodium”). Therefore, turkey ham, like meat derivatives, should be considered a moderate consumption product.