Polyunsaturated fat

polyunsaturated fatty acids, PUFA

What it is

Polyunsaturated fat is a type of fat whose fatty acids contain more than one double bond. The main families include omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

Why BOTIA flags it

A nutrition label may declare polyunsaturated fat as one combined value without showing how much is omega-3 and how much is omega-6. BOTIA keeps that declared value separate from the regulatory information and evidence used to interpret it.

BOTIA CAN

  • Read the polyunsaturated fat value when it is declared on the nutrition label and preserve its unit and basis.
  • Show that the value forms part of total fat rather than being added to it.
  • Connect the declared value with the applicable regulatory information and documented evidence where relevant.

BOTIA CANNOT

  • Determine how much of the declared value is omega-3 and how much is omega-6 unless the label provides that breakdown.
  • Calculate polyunsaturated fat reliably from total fat and other declared fat values.
  • Treat polyunsaturated fat as equivalent to omega-3.
  • Treat an undeclared polyunsaturated fat value as zero.

Sources

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