Table 2.
Comparison of the nutritional content, median and interquartile range (IQR), between national brand (NB) and private brand (PB) ready meal (RM) products, by category, in the sample of 506 RM products (PB, n 91; NB, n 415), South Korea, February–May 2017
| Category | Nutrient | Nutritional content/serving | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NB (n 415) | PB (n 91) | Total (n 506) | ||||||
| Median | IQR | Median | IQR | Median | IQR | P value | ||
| Refrigerated soups/stews | Energy (kcal)* | 95·0 | 55·0–155·0 | 142·5 | 96·3–241·5 | 120·0 | 75·0–192·0 | 0·001 |
| Carbohydrate (g) | 5·0 | 2·0–10·0 | 11·0 | 7·0–18·3 | 9·0 | 4·0–14·0 | <0·001 | |
| Protein (g) | 9·0 | 5·0–13·0 | 13·5 | 9·0–19·0 | 11·0 | 7·4–17·0 | 0·005 | |
| Fat (g) | 3·0 | 2·0–6·0 | 4·9 | 2·2–11·0 | 4·0 | 2·0–8·9 | 0·041 | |
| Cholesterol (mg) | 10·0 | 5·0–40·0 | 19·0 | 10·0–29·8 | 15·0 | 5·0–31·2 | 0·078 | |
| Na (mg) | 820·0 | 590·0–1210·0 | 1194·5 | 707·8–1615·8 | 980·0 | 632·0–1450·0 | 0·018 | |
| Sugar (g) | 1·0 | 0·0–3·0 | 2·0 | 0·0–4·0 | 1·0 | 0·0–4·0 | 0·062 | |
| Saturated fat (g) | 1·0 | 1·0–1·0 | 1·7 | 0·7–3·5 | 1·0 | 0·9–2·0 | 0·046 | |
| Trans-fat (g) | 0·0 | 0·0–0·0 | 0·0 | 0·0–0·0 | 0·0 | 0·0–0·0 | 0·024 | |
| Refrigerated noodles | Energy (kcal)* | 480·0 | 385·0–545·0 | 445·0 | 401·0–484·0 | 465·0 | 464·0–930·0 | 0·472 |
| Carbohydrate (g) | 96·0 | 76·0–110·0 | 94·5 | 78·3–99·0 | 96·0 | 76·5–107·5 | 0·449 | |
| Protein (g) | 12·0 | 10·0–15·0 | 13·5 | 10·8–17·5 | 12·0 | 10·0–15·0 | 0·200 | |
| Fat (g) | 4·0 | 2·0–8·0 | 4·1 | 1·6–6·0 | 4·0 | 2·0–7·5 | 0·798 | |
| Cholesterol (mg) | 0·0 | 0·0–5·0 | 5·0 | 0·0–50·3 | 0·0 | 0·0–10·0 | 0·007 | |
| Na (mg) | 1829·0 | 1180·0–2120·0 | 1889·0 | 1574·8–2460·3 | 1830·0 | 1295·0–2135·0 | 0·029 | |
| Sugar (g) | 14·0 | 9·0–20·0 | 6·0 | 3·8–12·3 | 12·0 | 7·0–19·0 | 0·001 | |
| Saturated fat (g) | 1·0 | 0·0–2·0 | 1·0 | 0·6–1·5 | 1·0 | 0·0–2·0 | 0·965 | |
| Trans-fat (g) | 0·0 | 0·0–0·0 | 0·0 | 0·0–0·0 | 0·0 | 0·0–0·0 | 0·132 | |
| Frozen rice/noodles | Energy (kcal)* | 390·0 | 345·0–432·5 | 370·0 | 352·5–388·8 | 385·0 | 345·0–425·0 | 0·138 |
| Carbohydrate (g) | 66·0 | 61·0–76·0 | 68·0 | 62·8–69·8 | 66·0 | 61·0–75·0 | 0·684 | |
| Protein (g) | 11·0 | 8·0–13·0 | 10·0 | 8·0–12·5 | 11·0 | 8·0–13·0 | 0·789 | |
| Fat (g) | 8·0 | 6·0–11·0 | 8·0 | 5·8–8·3 | 8·0 | 6·0–11·0 | 0·181 | |
| Cholesterol (mg) | 20·0 | 6·5–38·5 | 15·0 | 5·0–17·5 | 15·0 | 5·0–37·0 | 0·389 | |
| Na (mg) | 790·0 | 635·0–960·0 | 560·0 | 355·0–695·0 | 780·0 | 580·0–930·0 | 0·004 | |
| Sugar (g) | 4·0 | 2·0–6·0 | 2·0 | 1·0–4·0 | 3·0 | 2·0–5·0 | 0·157 | |
| Saturated fat (g) | 2·0 | 2·0–3·0 | 1·1 | 0·8–1·1 | 2·0 | 1·1–3·0 | <0·001 | |
| Trans-fat (g) | 0·0 | 0·0–0·0 | 0·0 | 0·0–0·0 | 0·0 | 0·0–0·0 | 0·228 | |
| Frozen dumplings | Energy (kcal)* | 280·0 | 250·0–310·0 | 275·0 | 219·0–705·0 | 280·0 | 250·0–310·0 | 0·990 |
| Carbohydrate (g) | 32·0 | 28·0–38·0 | 43·0 | 29·0–79·0 | 33·0 | 28·0–38·0 | 0·040 | |
| Protein (g) | 11·0 | 9·0–12·0 | 10·0 | 9·0–28·0 | 11·0 | 9·0–12·0 | 0·871 | |
| Fat (g) | 12·0 | 9·0–14·0 | 9·0 | 7·0–28·0 | 11·0 | 9·0–14·0 | 0·249 | |
| Cholesterol (mg) | 10·0 | 6·0–15·0 | 10·0 | 10·0–50·0 | 10·0 | 7·0–15·0 | 0·269 | |
| Na (mg) | 470·0 | 400·0–570·0 | 450·0 | 390·0–1115·0 | 470·0 | 400·0–570·0 | 0·761 | |
| Sugar (g) | 3·0 | 2·0–4·0 | 6·0 | 3·0–10·0 | 3·0 | 2·0–4·0 | 0·001 | |
| Saturated fat (g) | 4·0 | 3·0–5·0 | 2·7 | 2·0–8·0 | 4·0 | 3·0–5·0 | 0·079 | |
| Trans-fat (g) | 0·0 | 0·0–0·0 | 0·0 | 0·0–0·0 | 0·0 | 0·0–0·0 | 0·025 | |
P value from Mann–Whitney test; 5 % level of significance was considered.
*
To convert to kJ, multiply kcal values by 4·184.