CHENNAI: The inexpensive biscuits at your neighbourhood tea shop or the fried bajjis at your favourite restaurant might taste amazing, but they also slowly increase your chance of a heart problem, without you realising or the authorities taking action. And this is true with popular labels too, a survey has shown.
After a survey of 1,124 people including doctors, oil industry representatives and people across TN, Chennai-based Citizen Consumer and Civic Action group found that while 80% of general consumers were not aware of trans fat and its implications on health, it was 22% for doctors. The survey also exposed poor regulatory compliance.
Trans fat, a form of unsaturated fat, is present naturally in milk products, certain types of meat and is also industrially produced by partial hydrogenation of vegetable oil. Present in bakery products, chips, biscuits and related products, it can cause heart problems and increases risk of death by heart disease.
Most of those surveyed including bakery and oil industry representatives admitted to using items rich in trans fat like vanaspathi and 68% didn’t know the harmful effects of reused oil, which has trans fat.
Consultant dietician Dharini Krishnan says all fried/baked items have trans fat. “Many inexpensive biscuits claim to have butter, which costs Rs 500 per kg. It is doubtful if they really use butter.” Presence of trans fat depends on the length of heating, temperature and the amount of oil reused, Dharini said.
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) limits trans fat to 5% in food items and says this will be brought to 2% by 2022.
The survey showed only 19% of oil and related products were produced with 2% or less, while 33% were still working towards ensuring compliance. Only 45% of the labels studied mentioned trans fat levels, while 40% mentioned only presence of the fat. The rest didn’t mention anything.
A senior TN food safety wing official said, “Even doctors only advise staying away from fatty food and don’t explicitly mention trans fat.” All awareness programmes on trans fat planned this year were washed away, he said.