Making India trans fats-free

The health objectives of the move would only be partially served till the unorganised sector is brought into the loop

By fixing 2023 as the deadline to eliminate health-injurious trans fats from the food chain globally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has essentially sought to spur the countries to expedite phasing out these fats and stopping their use in food products. These are basically trans-unsaturated fatty acids which clog the arteries to heighten the risk of coronary diseases and heart attacks besides contributing to the development of type-two diabetes, hypertension and obesity. They increase the level of “bad cholesterol” (low-density lipoprotein or LDL) and decrease that of “good cholesterol” (high-density lipoprotein or HDL) in the blood. 

The WHO data indicates that diets high in trans fats raise the risk of heart problems by 21 per cent and deaths by 28 per cent. Over 500,000 people die and many times more suffer from coronary ailments every year due to the consumption of these fats. The total trans fat intake should ideally be limited to less than 1 per cent of the total energy intake which translates to less than 2.2 gm per day in a 2,000-calorie diet, the WHO maintains. 

The main natural sources of trans fats are dairy products and meats of ruminants like cattle, goats and sheep. Vegetable oils normally contain only small amounts of unsaturated fatty acids. Trans fats develop when these oils are hydrogenated (by adding hydrogen) to solidify them and stabilise their flavour. Partially hydrogenated fats are used extensively in processed and packaged snack foods to prolong their shelf life, improve texture and enhance taste. The trans fats-rich foods include baked items like cakes, pastries, biscuits and pizzas; fried foods like potato chips, French fries, doughnuts and fried chicken; and various Indian fried snacks like pakodas, samosas and tikkies. Some margarines also contain tans fats. 

Though the WHO-dictated target is not binding on all nations, most countries seem to have taken it seriously. Fortunately, India is also among them. Some high-income countries have legally barred the production and use of industrially produced trans fats. India’s food regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has capped the permissible content of trans fats in foods at 5 per cent, lowering it from the earlier 10 per cent. But this limit is observed largely by the producers of processed and packaged foods in the organised sector. 

The unorganised food sector is, by and large, oblivious of these restrictions. Besides, though the FSSAI has mandated the food processors to mention the actual content of trans fats on the labels of the products, this is often done in very small type size to make it hard to decipher. In some cases, the information on the labels is misleading as well. 

The typical Indian foods and snacks vended by the roadside eating joints and even those cooked at homes are generally loaded with trans fats. These include popular desi fast foods, such as bhaturas, poories, pakodas and tikkies, which are often fried in trans fats-rich vanaspati. In fact, many households also use vanaspati as the cooking medium. Reheating and re-use of the oils, which boosts their trans fats content, is also common in India. Unfortunately, most housewives and food vendors, as also most consumers, are unaware of the adverse effects of trans fats. 

However, regardless of the poor enforcement of food standards — which must be suitably addressed — the FSSAI’s keenness to purge trans fats from foods is appreciable. It reportedly intends to lower the maximum limit of trans fats in vegetable oils and hydrogenated vegetable oils to 2 per cent by weight as part of its goal to make India trans fats-free by 2022, a year ahead of the WHO’s target. But the task is not easy. Even if the FSSAI manages to get the processed food industry’s cooperation in this endeavour, the health objectives of the move would only be partially served till the unorganised sector is also brought into the loop. This cannot be done through legal means alone. A massive awareness drive would be needed for this purpose. . 

surinder.sud@gmail.com