In a workshop held in Asharqia Chamber
yesterday
The
General Committee for Food and Drug appointed
next July as the date for compulsory application of the Gulf Saudi Technical
Regulations of trans fat, of limiting dietary of trans fat content in food, at
2% maximum of trans fat in oils and fat products, and 5% of trans fat max of
the total in other food products so as to include all the factories,
restaurants and food suppliers.
A
specialist analyzes developed the General Committee for Food and Drug Mishari Al Qoisani
in a workshop titled (Reducing trans fat content in food) held by Asharqia Chamber
Committee on Tuesday 14 March 2017 the coordination
with the concerned authorities is ongoing
such as the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs
to work as a team to follow up the implementation of these initiatives.
He
explained that the body is not going to keep all products containing a certain
percentage of trans fat, and that the existence of some benefits in them, but the
Committee handles a commitment of the approved percentage, and in order to
protect public health.
He
added that the Committee is working with
the Ministry of Health to improve an
awareness program to raise the level of health education among consumers of the
importance of the use of healthy food.
He
pointed that the Committee is implementing the project "Methods for
testing trans fat" within the Gulf technical
committee of food and agricultural specifications for 2017 plan, based on the
ISO standard 12966.
Nutritionist in the General Authority for Food and Drug
Fahad Al Bader said that trans fats come from natural products such as milk products
and red meat, ranging from the amount of fat mutated in these products between
2 and 5 of the total fat, also are composed during food manufacturing process
as a result of exposure oils liquid
hydrogen gas to be fat solid in order to increase the period of validity of the
product and the preservation of the taste of food and called this process Hydrogenation, and it contributes to a better flavor and texture which
makes many factories add it to food products, ignoring the damage caused by it
and most prominently raising the level of cholesterol in the blood,
weight gain, diabetes and certain cardiovascular diseases.
He
said that these fats are found in many food products such as cakes, biscuits,
pies, pizza and coffee whitener and margarine, peanut butter, pastries and
fried foods and some types of bread.
He
said that the international legislation did not force controls on the first
type of trans fat (natural products) but stressed metamorphic other sources of
fat, WHO has recommended that no more than the amount of trans fats than 1% of
the total calories a day.
He
noted the possibility of replacing the fats and oils that contain a high
percentage of trans fat and saturated fat in fat monounsaturated, such as canola
oil, olive oil and fat numerous unsaturated, such as soybean oil, corn oil,
which studies have shown its health benefits
to the consumer in case they are consumed in the appropriate quantity, and in
case of
the desire of using hydrogenated margarine, it is advisable to read the data on
the product label and choose products that contain small amounts of trans fat.
The
director of chronic diseases, and of Health in the Eastern Province, Dr. Amro Al
Omran said that the seriousness of trans fat lies in the difficulty of the body
getting rid of them, they need 51 days to get rid of them, while fat
metamorphic needs a period of 18 days to get rid of it from the body, and this
long period lead to damage some
cells are deadly body oils, and lead to a high level of LDL cholesterol (the
DDT), and low (HDL).
He
said that these oils cause weight gain and obesity, and that causes a number of
diseases, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and Alzheimer's, they
are directly or indirectly the cause of all chronic diseases.
He
pointed that the kingdom has become one of the top ten countries in the spread obesity,
as classified by the World Health Organization 2014
urging
to take advantage of international experiences in reducing trans fat in food,
such as Canada, Denmark, the United States and others, stressing the importance
of awareness, especially for new generations.
For
his part, Head of the Industrial Committee in Asharqia Chamber Abdullah Al Sanea
urged to improve a healthy curriculum in collaboration with the General Committee for Food and Drug, and the Ministry
of Education, for spreading health culture among the younger generation.
