Trans-fatty acids are created in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid, increase shelf life of food items and for use as an adulterant as they are cheap. They are present in baked, fried and processed 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. As per the WHO, approximately 5.4 lakh deaths take place each year globally because of intake of industrially produced trans-fatty acids. The WHO has called for the elimination of industrially produced trans-fatty acids from the global food supply by 2023.

“The latest amendments to FSSAI rules signal the completion of the process of regulating transfats in India. The move will make a big difference to the harm caused by this unwanted ingredient. This allows FSSAI and the State-level food safety machineries to focus on implementation and enforcement of the regulations,” said Ashim Sanyal, COO of Consumer Voice.

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