Bangladesh Food Safety Authority has adopted the best-practice policy declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in regulating toxic trans fatty acids in foodstuffs.
The regulation has been notified in the government gazette on Monday. Experts thought it is a landmark step by the government in reducing heart disease risks.
Progga (Knowledge for Progress), National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh (NHFB), and Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) hail this effort of the government.
Mentioning around 5 lakh people die of trans fat-induced heart diseases globally each year, they said the “Limiting Trans Fatty Acids in Foodstuffs Regulations, 2021” will ensure safe food and at the same time play a pivotal role in preventing non communicable diseases.
NHFB founder and president national professor brigadier (Retd) Abdul Malik said the prevalence of heart diseases among young and middle-aged people has increased in recent days, for which, intake of trans fat-laden food is largely to be blamed.
“Implementation of the new regulation will drastically reduce the prevalence of heart diseases in the country. My congratulations will be to the government for such a timely endeavour,” he added.
According to Regional Director of South Asia Programs at Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) Vandana Shah said, “Bangladesh joins a growing number of countries, including India, Brazil and Turkey, that are taking steps to follow the WHO’s call to eliminate industrially produced trans fat from their food supply by 2023.
“I applaud BFSA’s leadership and initiative in making Bangladesh TFA-free. This policy will contribute significantly towards reducing the burden of cardiovascular diseases and will motivate other countries in the region to take similar action,” Vandana added.
PROGGA Executive Director ABM Zubair said, “4.41 per cent of deaths from heart diseases in Bangladesh are attributable to trans-fat intake. This regulation will surely contribute to achieving SDG goal 3.4 of reducing premature deaths from non-communicable diseases by one- third within 2030.”
CAB President Golam Rahman opined that “This regulation will play a pioneering role in safeguarding consumer health.”
Industrially produced Trans Fatty Acid (TFA) or trans-fat is a toxic food element. Excessive intake of trans fat causes increased risks of heart diseases, deaths owing to heart diseases, dementia, and cognitive impairment.
