PAHO calls for progress on legislation in Latin America to eliminate trans fats in foods
12 octubre 2021

NUTRITION

Trans fats. On October 12, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in Mexico held an event to raise awareness of the elimination of trans fats in food. Representatives of the international organization pointed out that it is essential to eradicate these trans fatty acids in industrial food production (TFA-PI), and that it is necessary for countries throughout the Americas to assume the commitment to legislate on the matter. The progress made by Uruguay and Paraguay in the application of measures along these lines was recognized, and it is hoped that Mexico will continue to make legislative progress on the recently approved initiative by the Senate to regulate the use of partially hydrogenated oils in food products, and that Colombia and Argentina will show progress in their respective parliamentary bills in this regard in the medium term.

The general director of the National Center for Preventive Programs and Disease Control in Mexico, Dr. Ruy López Ridaura, said that trans fats have been considered toxic and should be eliminated from human consumption. He also said that, in regulatory terms, it is necessary to prohibit the use of partially hydrogenated oils, which are the source from which trans fats for industrial use are produced, along with limiting the inclusion of alternative types to TFA-PI in the total value of fats found in oils and other food products. In this way, he indicated that it is possible that the formal measures in Uruguay and Paraguay, or those soon to be approved in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, will allow the protection of part of the Latin American population until 2023.

Likewise, the civil organization Prevenir Mx, at the event, invited to continue analyzing the use of additives in food production, as well as to review the type of food products that contain TFA-PI, such as fast food, potato chips, cookies with creamy filling, among others. The advances in these investigations, according to the organization, should be accompanied by the application in Mexico of the Labeling Law that informs about trans fats contained in pre-packaged foods, together with the parliamentary progress of the bill that eliminates the use of partially hydrogenated oils and reduces the use of alternatives to industrially produced trans fats, which was approved in the Senate and must be discussed in the Chamber of Deputies in order to become law.

On the other hand, the representative of PAHO/World Health Organization (WHO), Fabio Da Silva Gomes, recognized the progress of Latin American countries with the commitment to eliminate trans fats from industrial production, with the PAHO’s Action Plan for the Elimination of Trans Fats, endorsed in 2019 by Latin American countries to not allow foods with this content by 2023, and establishing the corresponding monitoring in 2025 of this measure.

Next steps

The event on legislative progress on the elimination of trans fats in food of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), highlighted the work of Mexico in promoting the bill recently approved in the Senate on the elimination of partially hydrogenated oils in food and non-alcoholic beverages, which will continue its legislative process in the House of Representatives to become law. Paraguay and Uruguay have made progress on similar measures, and Colombia and Argentina are making legislative progress on restrictions on these fatty acids. Eventually, it is expected that all countries in the region will follow a similar path and implement PAHO’s Action Plan for the Elimination of Trans Fats to eliminate these fats by 2023.

It is possible that the Mexican Chamber of Deputies, in view of dealing with the bill in committees, will hold open parliaments in which it will invite different stakeholders from the sector to discuss the initiative in greater depth. If it is of interest, McDonalds could participate and contribute in this legislative instance. 

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