Context: Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan were among countries that need to act urgently against trans-fat. 

• These countries were among the 15 countries that account for two-thirds of the deaths linked to the substance according to WHO. 

About Trans fatty acids (TFAs) or Trans fats 

• They are the most harmful type of fats which can have much more adverse effects on our body than any other dietary constituent.
• These fats are largely produced artificially but a small amount also occurs naturally. Thus in our diet, these may be present as Artificial TFAs and/ or Natural TFAs. Artificial TFAs are formed when hydrogen is made to react with the oil to produce fats resembling pure ghee/butter.

Concerns

• It poses a higher risk of heart disease than saturated fats. While saturated fats raise total cholesterol levels, TFAs not only raise total cholesterol levels but also reduce the good cholesterol (HDL), which helps to protect us against heart disease.
• Its consumption increases the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, hypertension and other cardiovascular disorders. 
• It is associated with a higher risk of developing obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, infertility, certain types of cancers and can also lead to compromised fetal development causing harm to the yet to be born baby.

Permissible limits  for Trans-fats

• A draft notification to limit trans-fat to be not more than 2% by weight of the total oils/fats present in the processed food products in which edible oils and fats are used as an ingredient on and from 1st January 2022 was issued on 28.08.2019. 
• Standards prescribed under various regulations of FSSAI are enforced to check that they comply with the standards laid down under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the rules and regulations made thereunder and in cases where the food samples are found to be non-conforming, recourse is taken to penal provisions under Chapter IX of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
• WHO has recommended to limit trans fat to less than 1% of total energy intake. It has called for the total elimination of TFAs in global food supply by 2023.

World-wide efforts to reduce trans-fat consumption

• So far, 58 countries introduced laws to protect 3.2 billion people from the substance by the end of 2021. But more than 100 countries still needed to take action to remove trans-fat from their food supply chains.
• Four of the 15 countries namely  Canada, Latvia, Slovenia, United States of America that accounted for two-thirds of the deaths, implemented WHO-recommended best-practice policies since 2017. They did this by establishing mandatory limits for trans-fats to two per cent of oils and fats in all foods or by banning partially hydrogenated oils.
• The remaining countries  Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Iran, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, Republic of Korea  did not take action yet. 
• The five south Asian countries are home to nearly 1.8 billion people. Of these countries, the WHO said India that implemented less restrictive measures was now updating its policies to align with best practices. 
• The WHO pointed out significant disparities in action taken against the substance, despite the progress made. Most policy actions — including ones passed in 2019 and 2020 — were only in higher-income countries and in the WHO regions of the Americas and Europe. 
• None of the low-income or lower-middle-income countries have yet implemented best-practice policies, while seven of their upper-middle-income and 33 of their high-income counterparts did so.

Indian’s measure to tackle this

• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) launched two initiatives for reducing consumption of trans fat i.e. Eat Right Movement and Heart Attack Rewind mass media campaign.
• Eat Right Movement: Launched in 2018, the programme is built on two broad pillars of ‘Eat Healthy’ and ‘Eat Safe’. It aims to cut down on salt, sugar and oil consumption by 30% in three years.
• Swachh Bharat Yatra, a Pan-India cyclothon, was launched under the movement to aware the citizens on issues of food safety, combating food adulteration and healthy diets.
• Heart Attack Rewind: It is a 30-second public service announcement which was broadcasted in 17 languages on social media platforms. The objective of the campaign was to warn citizens about the health hazards of consuming trans fats and offer strategies to avoid them through healthier alternatives.

About Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)

• It has been established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which consolidates various acts & orders that have handled food-related issues in various Ministries and Departments.
• The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is the administrative Ministry for the implementation of FSSAI.