Cape Town - Spaza shops are the most popular convenience stores for many living in the townships and meat is the most popular food item, with fruit and vegetables the least liked items, new research has revealed.
According to the Food Lab report – a food security report that was conducted in Kanana informal settlement in Gugulethu by Africa Centre – three out of four people living in that township ate processed foods and only 25 percent of their food was not processed.
Most consumers or 58 percent reported that they fried their food when preparing, 11 percent boiled it, and only nine percent grilled it while eight percent steamed it.
The 16-month research focused on how urban families that earned a monthly income of R4 000 or less managed their food requirements.
When given R100 to shop, most residents (32 percent) reported that they would buy meat, about 11 percent would buy maize meal, and another 11 percent fruit and vegetables and only four percent would buy milk and electricity.
Red meat was the most consumed form of protein with 64 percent of consumers eating red meat. This was followed by eggs at 13 percent, 12 percent ate chicken, and nine percent ate seafood.
Residents also had different perceptions about their body weight, with many regarding themselves as healthier than their actual body weight.
While 49 percent were considered obese with a body mass index (BMI) of over 30, many didn’t perceive themselves as obese with eight percent of residents perceiving themselves as obese.
While 19 percent were proven to be normal weight based on the BMI, 41 percent thought their weight was normal.
Surprisingly, when it came to beverages that were considered healthy, including fizzy drinks, 74 percent of consumers said Lemon Twist was healthy while 71 percent said Fanta Orange was healthy.
On the other hand, Twizza granadilla and Jive Cola were considered unhealthy by 68 percent of residents.
Writers of the report, Robin Jutzen and Tambudzai Ndlovu, said the latest data “both affirms previous studies and unearths a range of new information about food consumption, behaviours, beliefs and values among the urban poor”.
Cape Argus