Sri Lanka’s health revolution: Taking a stand against trans fats in food products

By Subajiny Sivakanthan
(Ph.D., M.Phil., B.Sc.)

Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Agriculture
University of Jaffna

Sri Lanka is on the brink of a health revolution as it takes decisive steps to combat a silent yet potent threat in our food products: Trans fats. In a bold move aimed at safeguarding public health and promoting well-being, Sri Lanka has enacted regulations Food (Trans Fat) Regulations (2022) with effect from January 1, 2025, to ban and limit trans fats in food items, marking a significant milestone in the nation’s journey towards a healthier future.

Trans fats have long been the silent danger lurking in our food, posing a significant threat to public health worldwide. Trans fats exist in a semisolid to solid state and can be classified as naturally occurring and industrially produced (artificial trans fats) and they have no known health benefits. Trans fatty acids occur naturally in minute quantities in meat and milk derived from ruminants such as cattle, sheep, and goats and these naturally occurring trans fats do not harm human health. Industrially produced trans fats are associated with the detrimental effects on human health. The major proportion of dietary trans fats is produced during the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils. These partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are used as ingredients in a variety of foods such as shortenings and margarines, fried foods, baked products (crackers, doughnuts, and pies), pancake, and hot chocolate mix. Moreover, some other food processing such as oil refining, and frying also can generate a significant amount of trans fats. Frying foods using oils containing high amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids at temperatures above 200 °C for a prolonged period of time and reuse of frying oils generates trans fats. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are widely used in Sri Lanka to manufacture margarines and shortenings and by restaurants and street vendors.

These industrially produced trans fats have been linked to a plethora of health issues such as the increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease and stroke, by raising levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol and lowering levels of good (HDL) cholesterol in the blood. Trans fats are also associated with inflammation, insulin resistance, and other metabolic disorders. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular diseases stand out as the major cause of death globally attributed to unhealthy diet as one of the leading risk factors. Among the dietary factors, high intake of trans-fat is linked with a 34% increase in the risk of death from any cause, a 28% rise in coronary heart disease deaths, and a 21% rise in coronary heart disease risk. Every year, globally, about 300,000 deaths are attributed to the consumption of industrially produced trans-fat. In Sri Lanka, ischemic heart diseases continue to be a leading cause of death, comprising approximately 18% (6,665) of the total deaths attributed to the top 10 causes in 2020. As awareness grows about the detrimental effects of trans fats on public health, global initiatives have emerged to mitigate their presence in the global food supply and promote healthier dietary practices.

In 2003, the US Food and Drug Administration (US-FDA) introduced stringent regulations to reduce trans fats. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also recommended that saturated fat intake should be limited to less than 10% of total energy intake, and trans fat intake should be kept below 1% of total energy intake. These recommendations and regulatory measures from the WHO have significantly influenced the food industry, leading to changes in practices and product formulations to align with public health objectives and consumer preferences for healthier choices.

The WHO has prioritized the elimination of trans fats in its 13^th General Programme of Work (GPW13). In 2018, the WHO launched the REPLACE action framework, calling for the global eradication of industrially produced trans fatty acids by 2023. This framework serves as a roadmap for countries to remove these harmful fats from their food systems. The WHO has further supported countries by releasing six implementation modules for REPLACE and introducing the trans fat Country Score Card, a tool to track country progress towards reaching the 2023 target.

As of now, 3.7 billion people (around half of the world’s population) across 57 countries are under mandatory limits on trans fats or bans on partially hydrogenated oils. Over the past two years, 27 countries have adopted policies aligned with WHO’s guidelines for trans-fat elimination. The WHO stated that the elimination of trans fats from the food supply can help attain the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets of reducing premature deaths from noncommunicable diseases by one-third by 2030. Sri Lanka joined this effort by enacting trans-fat regulations effective from January 1, 2024. (See map)

A landscape analysis of the policy environment, trans-fat levels in foods, and consumption patterns in a nationally representative sample was carried out in Sri Lanka by the WHO in 2020. This analysis aimed to understand the current status of trans fats within Sri Lanka’s food industry and evaluate the feasibility of implementing mandatory trans-fat regulations. The findings from this assessment revealed that, while some foods contained higher levels of trans fats (although generally less than 2% of total fat), they were not consumed daily at either the household or individual level (limited to adolescents only). The most frequent consumption frequency observed was three to four times per week among a fifth of the studied population. Furthermore, laboratory analyses of oils, fats, and various food products sourced from both formal and informal sectors indicated that the overall trans-fat content was typically below 2% of total fat across most products.

The Food (Trans Fat) Regulations (2022) requires packaged food containing trans fats to label the trans fats content as per 100g or 100ml of the food product. It prohibits the sale of any food, in which the content of trans fats other than trans fats naturally occurring in fat of animal origin exceeds two percent of the total fat contained in the food, as well as bans the manufacture, import, transport, distribution, storage, or sale of any partially hydrogenated oils. Moreover, it bans the use of partially hydrogenated oils in food preparation or as an ingredient in food products. However, any food or food ingredient with naturally occurring trans fats having iodine values greater than four, shall not be considered to contain partially hydrogenated oils, unless it is hydrogenated and not completely or near completely saturated.

The enactment of new trans-fat regulations in Sri Lanka signifies a pivotal step towards safeguarding public health and promoting healthier dietary practices. The responsibilities shared between government authorities, food industries, health professionals, advocacy groups, and international organizations underscore the collective effort needed to achieve compliance, protect consumer well-being, and raise awareness about the risks associated with trans fats. Through collaboration and coordinated efforts, positive changes are anticipated in the country’s food industry, public health landscape, and overall consumer well-being as a result of these regulatory measures.

Resources

·

Food (Trans-Fat) Regulations, (2022), under section 32 of the Food Act, No. 26 of 1980

· World Health Organization. 2021. Countdown to 2023 WHO report on global trans-fat elimination 2021.

· World Health Organization. 2020. Landscape analysis of trans-fat limits for Sri Lanka. Policy Brief

· Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka. 2023. Annual Health Bulletin – 2020.