Veggie chips cannot be called a 'healthy snack,' health experts say

Vegetable chips or veggie chips cannot be called and marketed as "healthy," according to health experts. 

As many individuals are hesitant to eat vegetables, some entrepreneurs are turning them into a snack and making them available to the public, even online. 

HealthJustice Philippines Managing Director Ralph Degollacion said it is alarming that some content creators or social media influencers are promoting such products and claiming that veggie chips are considered healthy. 

"Yung mga nagmi-mimick ng mga vegetables, or those that actually imitate vegetables are usually preserved or ultra processed na siya," Degollacion told GMA News Online in an interview. 

(Those who mimic vegetables, or those that actually imitate vegetables are usually preserved or ultra processed.) 

Therefore, he said, it is not guaranteed that this particular type of snack is  indeed "healthy."

"It's not (healthy). Actually it's confusing, misleading, yes. Kasi ang tendency noon ay that person will eat and consume that food and ang isip niya na he or she is doing good to his or her body. But in fact it's harming. Important lang talaga is to have the right information and kung kakayanin na nagkaroon ng marketing regulations to those claims," he added.

(Because the tendency is for that person to eat and consume that food, thinking he or she is doing good to his or her body. But in fact it's harmful. The only thing that is really important is to have the right information and if it is possible to have marketing regulations to those claims.)

Health Philippines Alliance representative and The Police Center Philippines board of trustee Ma. Fatima Villena agreed with Degollacion, noting that despite being called "veggie," it is still a processed food. 

"Hindi healthy. Hindi ganun yun, kaya nga tayo nagpipilit na magkaroon ng warning labels kasi marami ang nagke-claim nun," Villena stressed. 

(It's not healthy. That's not the case, that's why we insist on having warning labels because many claim that.) 

"Although mukha siyang gulay and all that, gaano kadami ang asin na nilagay? Kasi to prolong the shelf life you need to put preservatives. I think gulay pa rin dapat (ang kinakain)," she added. 

(Although it looks like a vegetable and all that, but do we know how much salt is in there because in order to prolong the shelf life, you need to put preservatives. I think actual vegetables should still be eaten.)

Both health leaders reminded social media influencers to be mindful of the products, especially food they promote online. 

Degollacion said their "influence" is affecting not just their followers' purchasing habits and food choices but also their perspectives on certain aspects. 

At a press conference on Wednesday, Healthy Philippines Alliance made the call amid their groundbreaking Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony to formalize its collective commitment to combating NCDs, in time for the celebration of World Food Day on October 16. 

They called on the national government on Wednesday to implement a policy for food warning labels in order to decrease the consumption of ultra-processed food and to combat non-communicable diseases (NCDs). 

— LA, GMA Integrated News