FSSAI slashes limit for trans fat levels in foods

All natural fats and oils are a combination of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids or trans fatty acids (TFA).
Our body needs the first two categories of ‘healthy’ fats as apart from being a major source of energy, they help absorb some vitamins and minerals and build cell membranes and the sheaths surrounding nerves.
These fats are free-flowing, unlike saturated fatty acids or trans fats, which are considered harmful as they clog arteries and result in hypertension, heart attacks, and other cardiovascular issues.

There are two broad types of trans fats found in foods: naturally-occurring and artificial trans fats.
Artificial trans fats, which are considered harmful, are created in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils (a method known as hydrogenation) to make them more solid, increase their shelf life, and for use as an adulterant as they are cheap. They are present in baked and fried foods as well as adulterated ghee, which becomes solid at room temperature.
They are the most harmful form of fats as they clog arteries and cause hypertension, heart attacks and other cardiovascular diseases.
The WHO estimates that over 5 lakh people with cardiovascular issues die globally every year due to the consumption of industrially produced TFAs. As per FSSAI, about 77,000 deaths take place annually in India due to TFAs.

In 2018, the WHO called for elimination of industrially produced TFAs by 2023, and brought out a step-by step guide called ‘REPLACE’ to help countries frame policies. This prompted accelerated action by member states and other stakeholders.

In December 2020, FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) capped the amount of trans fatty acids in oils and fats to 3% for 2021 and 2% by 2022 from the current permissible limit of 5% through an amendment to the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations.
The revised regulation applies to edible refined oils, vanaspati (partially hydrogenated oils), margarine, bakery shortenings, and other mediums of cooking such as vegetable fat spreads and mixed fat spreads.

The FSSAI has restricted the permissible amount of industrial Trans Fatty Acid (TFA) in food products to 2 per cent from 2022, just weeks after it tightened the norms for oils and fats.
The permissible limit for trans fats in food products in 2021 is 3 per cent, cut down from the previous limit of 5 per cent.
Food products that incorporate edible oils and fats as ingredients, including edible refined oils, vanaspati/partially hydrogenated oils, margarine, vegetable fat spreads, mixed fat spreads, bakery shortenings, fall under the ambit of the newly issued Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2021.
The 2% cap is considered to be a move towards elimination of trans fatty acids, which will be achieved by 2022, a year sooner than the WHO deadline.

FSSAI is an autonomous statutory body established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is the administrative Ministry of FSSAI.
FSSAI is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety.

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