World Health Organization singles out five countries that have successfully eradicated unhealthy products
PUBLISHED : 2 Aug 2024 at 18:56
The World Health Organization (WHO) has named Thailand as one of five countries that have successfully eradicated trans-fatty acids in the food industry.
The award recognises the country’s endeavour to fight against industrially produced trans-fatty acids (iTFA), which included a ban imposed in 2019, said Lertchai Lertwut, deputy secretary-general of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
He said scientific research has proven that trans-fatty acids increase the risk of developing heart and coronary artery disease by 28%.
Heart disease causes around 60,000 of the 500,000 deaths recorded annually in Thailand.
The “Thailand is Free of iFTA” campaign, launched in 2019 by the FDA and the Institute of Nutrition at Mahidol University, aims to ban the production, import and distribution of foods that contain oils that have undergone a partially hydrogenated process (trans fat).
The campaign’s active measures to eradicate trans fat and raise public awareness of its harmful effects have won the WHO’s admiration. It said Thailand is the only Asean country to have a policy of banning iFTA, in line with the WHO’s best practices guidelines.
“The FDA will continue to monitor the food industry to ensure it is free from iFTA. Our work is also aimed at enhancing the credibility of the Thai food industry and creating more opportunities for its economic growth,” Mr Lertchai said.
The five countries that have been awarded the WHO’s first-ever certificates validating progress in eliminating iFTA are Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Thailand.
Trans-fatty acids are semisolid to solid fats that occur in two forms: industrially produced and naturally occurring. Intake of trans-fatty acids is associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and death from heart disease.
Trans-fatty acids have no known health benefits, and foods high in iTFA (fried foods, cakes, ready meals) are often high in sugar, fat and salt.
A total of 53 countries have best-practice policies in effect for tackling trans fats in food, vastly improving the food environment for 3.7 billion people, or 46% of the world’s population, as compared to 6% just 5 years ago. These policies are expected to save about 183,000 lives a year.