Hanoi (VNA) –Singapore will ban the use of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), the mainsource of artificial trans fats, in all foods from June 2021, according to thecountry’s Ministry of Health.
Accordingly, food processing companies will haveto ensure that PHOs are not used in the production process. Retailers andimporters must also ensure their food products do not contain PHOs as aningredient.
The ministry said PHOs is commonly found inoils, fats and pre-packaged products, and it is estimated that about 10 percentof these categories of food in Singapore currently contain PHOs.
Six companies of Singapore have committed tomeet the ban a year early, ensuring that their products are PHO-free by June2020. They account for 50 percent of market share across the four high-riskfood categories of snacks, baked goods, prepared meals and fat spreads, theministry added.
The new measure will replace the current2-percent limit of the amount of trans fat content in fats and oils sold inSingapore. The existing limit has halved the national daily trans fat intakefrom 2.1 grammes a day in 2010 to 1 gramme a day in 2018.
Trans fat consumption is associated withincreased risk of cardiovascular diseases, and there is no safe level ofconsumption.
Previous studies had found that a four-grammeincrease in daily trans fat intake was associated with a 23-percent increase inthe incidence of cardiovascular diseases.-VNA
Accordingly, food processing companies will haveto ensure that PHOs are not used in the production process. Retailers andimporters must also ensure their food products do not contain PHOs as aningredient.
The ministry said PHOs is commonly found inoils, fats and pre-packaged products, and it is estimated that about 10 percentof these categories of food in Singapore currently contain PHOs.
Six companies of Singapore have committed tomeet the ban a year early, ensuring that their products are PHO-free by June2020. They account for 50 percent of market share across the four high-riskfood categories of snacks, baked goods, prepared meals and fat spreads, theministry added.
The new measure will replace the current2-percent limit of the amount of trans fat content in fats and oils sold inSingapore. The existing limit has halved the national daily trans fat intakefrom 2.1 grammes a day in 2010 to 1 gramme a day in 2018.
Trans fat consumption is associated withincreased risk of cardiovascular diseases, and there is no safe level ofconsumption.
Previous studies had found that a four-grammeincrease in daily trans fat intake was associated with a 23-percent increase inthe incidence of cardiovascular diseases.-VNA
VNA
