CSE asks food safety group to reduce trans fat in edible oils
CSE asks food safety group to reduce trans fat in edible oils

Today, an environment advocacy group termed the country's food regulator's move to reduce trans-fat content in edible oils as important milestone in controlling non-communicable diseases in India and urged to bring it to "near-zero levels", reported PTI.

Lately, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has reduced permitted trans-fats content in edible fats and oils in the country from 10 to 5 per cent.

"The five per cent limit is a step in the right direction. Although slowly, we have progressed from having a 10 per cent limit first set a couple of years ago. We should aim to reduce it further to near-zero levels," said Sunita Narain, Director General of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

The CSE said, FSSAI in its latest notification on the issue has reduced the maximum permitted amount of trans-fats to 5 per cent (by weight) in hydrogenated vegetable oils, margarine and fat spreads and interesterified vegetable fat.

"Consumption of junk foods is also rising across all sections of society and age-groups. It is no longer limited to urban areas. Keeping this in view, the new regulation is an important milestone in containing the burden of non-communicable disease," Deputy DG CSE, Chandra Bhushan said.

With the consumption of trans-fats through cooking medium or ultra-processed junk foods was strongly linked with non-communicable diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been advising countries to limit its consumption while in a similar attempt, the US in June recognised the use of partially hydrogenated oils as unsafe and banned its use by food product manufacturers within three years, the CSE said.

In 2009, CSE study on 30 brands of cooking oils, found trans-fats contents in all vanaspati brands much higher than the prescribed standard.

 
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