Trans Fat

Recently, FSSAI issued a revised regulation according to which “Food products” using edible oils and fats as an ingredient shall not contain industrial TFAs more than 2% by mass of total oils/fats present in product, on and from 1st January, 2022.

 

>>Earlier, in December, FSSAI had capped the amount of trans fatty acids (TFA) in ‘oils and fats’ to 3% for 2021 and 2% by 2022 from the current permissible limit of 5% through an amendment to the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations.

What is Trans fat ?

>>Trans fat, or trans-fatty acids, are unsaturated fatty acids that come from either natural or industrial sources:

1] Naturally occurring trans-fat come from ruminants (cows and sheep).

2] Industrially produced produced trans-fat are formed in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to vegetable oil converting the liquid into a solid, resulting in “partially hydrogenated” oil (PHO).

>>Industrially produced trans-fats are found in hardened vegetable fats such as margarine and ghee (clarified butter) and are often present in snack foods, baked goods and fried foods. Manufacturers often use them as they have a longer shelf life and are cheaper than other fats.

>>They are more unhealthy than saturated fats as they increase bad cholesterol, i.e., Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL) and lower good cholesterol, i.e., High Density Lipoproteins (HDL).

>>They have harmful health effects even in small amounts – for each additional 2% of calories from trans-fat consumed daily, the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) increases by 23%.

>>Approximately 540,000 deaths each year can be attributed to intake of industrially produced trans fatty acids and in India the figure reaches to 60,000 number.

>>World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that transfat intake be limited to less than 1% of total energy intake i.e., less than 2.2 g/day with a 2,000-calorie diet. 

Steps taken against Trans fats.

>>WHO launched a comprehensive plan to eliminate industrially produced artificial trans fats from the global food supply by 2023 called REPLACE. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

>>It has been established under Food Safety and Standards, 2006 which consolidates various acts & orders that have hitherto handled food related issues in various Ministries and Departments.

>>FSSAI has been created for laying down science-based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

>>FSSAI, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is working for the elimination of industrially produced transfat in the ‘food supply’ in India by the year 2022, a year ahead of the global target by the WHO for complete elimination of trans fat. To achieve the target, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) launched two initiatives:

Eat Right Movement is built on two broad pillars of ‘Eat Healthy’ and ‘Eat Safe’. It aims to cut down on salt, sugar and oil consumption by 30% in three years by educating customers.

Heart Attack Rewind campaign to warn citizens about the health hazards of consuming trans fats and offer strategies to avoid them through healthier alternatives.

Fat Free logo: Food establishments which use trans-fat free fats/oil and do not have industrial transfat more than 0.2g/100g of food, can display "Trans-fat free" logo in their outlets and on their food products. Challenge to eliminate trans fats from the global food