Pakistani Scientists Call for Improved Regulatory Measures on Trans Fatty Acid Levels

Pakistani scientists have reiterated calls for better regulatory measures to control trans fatty acid (TFA) levels in food and beverage products following findings that TFA was found to be very prevalent in the food supply, but rarely labelled correctly, FoodNavigator-Asia reported on September 15.

The study was conducted by the Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, where the researcher analyzed national trade data, published local TFA research papers over the past 20 years, as well as the food product labels of local food and beverage products covering fats oils products and industrial produced foods.  Within the fats and oils products category, it was found that just about every product examined contained TFA, demonstrating its prevalence in the local, food supply and offering a possible explanation to why Pakistan currently has the second highest per capita consumption of TFA in the Eastern Mediterranean region behind Egypt.

Second place on the list fell to a ghee product (33.03%) and fourth to an industrial bakery shortening (31.7%).  The high levels of TFA in these products were attributed to the rise of hydrogenated vegetable fats to have become an ‘integral part of Pakistanis’ daily diets’ over the years, which was in turn attributed to cost.  TFAs were prevalent in industrially produced foods ranging from bakery products to breakfast cereals and potato chips. Unfortunately, the high TFA levels were often not reflected on food labels.  Thus, the calls for better regulatory mechanisms.