Enforce trans-fat limits for food standards to safeguard public health: experts

They made the observation during a webinar held by PROGGA and the Global Health Advocacy Incubator to mark World Food Safety Day

Speedy implementation of the regulation limiting trans-fat is required to safeguard public health, experts have said, as the risk of various non-communicable diseases, including heart diseases, is growing increasingly in Bangladesh.

"Immediate actions must be taken to implement the trans-fat limiting regulation and protect people from trans-fat-induced diseases," Professor Md Abdul Alim, a member of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, said at a virtual event titled "Trans-fat in food and Heart Disease Risk: Way Forward" on Wednesday.

Research and advocacy organisation PROGGA, in collaboration with Global Health Advocacy Incubator, organised the webinar to mark World Food Safety Day.

"Trans-fat increases the risk of heart disease and stroke by reducing the amount of good fat and increasing the amount of bad fat in the body," said Shamsun Naher Nahid, head of nutrition at the Department of Diet and Nutrition of the BIRDEM General Hospital.

"BSTI has already started the process of standardisation to reduce the amount of trans-fat in food to the recommended level as per the regulations," Enamul Hoque, deputy director at the Standards Wing of the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution, said during the event.

Professor Sohel Reza Choudhury, head of the Department of Epidemiology and Research at the National Heart Foundation, said, "Eliminating trans-fats from food by implementing the regulations will help bring the general public under preventive measures and reduce the risk of heart disease."

Although the government passed the Controlling Trans-Fatty Acid in Foodstuffs Regulation 2021 to ensure trans-fat-free food, no progress has been noticed so far in terms of its implementation, PROGGA said in a statement.

According to the 2022 WHO report on global trans-fat elimination, some 43 countries, including neighbouring India, have implemented best-practice policies for tackling trans-fat in food.

However, Bangladesh is still lagging in the arena, according to the statement.

The main source of trans-fat is Partially Hydrogenated Oil (PHO), which is also known as Dalda or Banaspati Ghee. Generally, PHO or Dalda is used in preparing baked foods, processed foods, and fried snacks, as well as in food preparation by restaurants and street food vendors. Globally, almost 500,000 people die every year due to trans-fat-induced heart diseases, the statement said.