Civil Society calls for eliminating deadly industrially produced transfatty acids

Islamabad: Shakila Jalil

 Today, in a joint statement leading civil society organizations of Pakistan has urged government to taking urgent policy measures to eliminate deadly industrially produced trans fatty acids (iTFA) from the all sources of food supply chain. This was said during the media session hosted by Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) in a local hotel of Islamabad. The event provided journalists and media professionals with comprehensive insights into the challenges associated with the presence of iTFAs in the diet.

“Cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and stroke are the major killers of Pakistanis. Every single day delay in adopting WHO recommended best practice policy in eliminating iTFA from the diet means more people are dying due to this deadly substance lurking in our food supply” said Mukhtar Ahmed Ali, Executive Director, CPDI. “Pakistan is among the top consumer of iTFAs in the region due to absence of a comprehensive policy unlike other countries in the region” he added.

Partially Hydrogenated oils (PHO) are the major source of iTFAs and every single food where these oils are used contain these deadly substances in the diet. “Limiting iTFAs from the all dietary sources to no more than 2 percent of total fats through a single regulation and imposing ban on PHOs is the right approach for Pakistan to address this concerning situation” said Munawar Hussain, Country Lead Pakistan at Global Health Advocacy Incubator.

Recent studies and market analysis of our food sources have highlighted the urgent need for measures to mitigate the adverse effects of these substances, which are commonly found in processed food items.

“In a recent research conducted by Heartfile and Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research 2/3rd of the brands tested claiming virtually trans fats free were having a high amount of iTFAs. In addition, tea whiteners, shortenings, street foods, fried items and bakery items are among the major sources of iTFAs in the food supply chain.” said Dr. Saba Amjad, Chief Executive Officer Heartfile.

The event was attended by the large number of leading journalists and representatives from the civil society organizations. During the session, Pakistan’s health statistics, key gaps in food related policies and best practices from the region and other countries were discussed. The civil society organizations expressed their concern over the grave situation of rising diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in the country. They highlighted that government needs to take policy measures by declaring public health emergency to advance policies like regulating iTFAs from all dietary sources, imposing ban on PHOs, enacting front of pack nutrition labelling and warning signs on ultra-processed foods, and removing unhealthy foods from public institutions.