KARACHI: Experts at a provincial consultation focusing on the health hazards associated with industrially-produced trans fat held on Wednesday emphasised the need for urgent regulations to safeguard public health and impose a mandatory limit on unsaturated fats used in food products.

The event was organised by the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) in partnership with various stakeholders.

In his welcome note, CPDI executive director Mukhtar Ahmad said that Pakistan was currently experiencing significant delays in standardising regulations.

He stressed the urgency for Pakistan to adopt mandatory policies aimed at limiting trans fats, also called trans fatty acids, to less than two percent of total fats in all foods.

Call for regulation to limit trans fat

Munawar Hussain, consultant at Global Health Advocacy Incubator, highlighted the adverse health effects caused by the industrially produced trans fatty acids.

“Civil society, academia and regulatory bodies should take adequate measures to ensure that policy making platforms remain free of conflict of interest,” he said.

Mr Hussain indicated that though some progress had been made, Pakistan missed the 2023 timeline to adopt best practice policy and remained in the less restrictive category in the WHO score card.

He highlighted the key learnings and successful advocacy strategies from other countries who adopted WHO recommended best practice policy for limiting trans fat in all dietary sources.

Dr Saba Amjad, CEO of Heartfile, said that they conducted a market analysis which revealed that there were still significant levels of trans fat present in many food products such as pizza, bakery foods and edible oils.

She emphasised adopting one standard regulation to cover all foods to set the limits of not more than two percent of the total fats in a product, whether packed or unpacked, regardless of having prescribed standards or not.

Ali Bux Soomro, director technical at Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority, reiterated the commitment of Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority to eliminate industrially-produced trans fatty acids from all food sources and move Pakistan from a less restrictive category to best practice policy.

Dr Romaina from Aga Khan University underscored the need for collective steps needed to promptly implement the mandatory limits on industrial trans fatty acids.

She highlighted the importance of coordinated efforts to continue increasing public awareness through cost-effective strategies.

Dr Zubala representing Karachi University discussed how academia could contribute to scientific evidence regarding industrially produced trans fatty acids levels in food.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2024