World Food Safety Day: PROGGA calls for ensuring foods trans-fat free

Advocacy and research organization PROGGA urged the government to ensure foods trans-fat free, marking the World Food Safety Day on Monday.

"Trans-fat must be eliminated from the food chain immediately for ensuring safe food for all," said Executive Director of PROGGA ABM Zubair.

Zubair, in a media release, said it would be a cost-effective measure for the government.

"There is no alternative of safe food for nurturing a healthy generation. Eliminating trans-fat from foods can save thousands of lives," he added.

The theme of this year's World Food Safety Day is 'Safe food now for a healthy tomorrow'. It stresses that the production and consumption of safe food have immediate and long-term benefits for people, the planet, and the economy.

The Bangladesh Food Safety Authority has prepared the draft "Regulations on Trans Fatty Acids Control in Foodstuffs, 2021", but it yet to finalise it.

Zubair urged the government to immediately finalise and implement the regulations on limiting trans-fats in food.

Industrially produced trans-fat is a toxic food element that increases the risks of premature deaths from heart diseases.

Around 500,000 people die across the globe each year due to trans-fat-induced diseases, the press release said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has set the target to eliminate industrially-produced trans-fat from the global food supply by 2023.