September 28, 2024 – [Lahore] – Today, in a joint statement representatives from leading media organizations of Pakistan, civil society and public health advocates have urged government to taking urgent policy measures to eliminate deadly industrially produced transfatty acids (iTFA) from the all sources of food supply chain. The iTFAs in the food supply are killing Pakistanis every day and urgent policy measure aligned with WHO recommended best practices policies are pivotal to be adopted without any further delay. This was said during the media advocacy workshop hosted by Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) in a local hotel of Lahore. The event provided journalists and media professionals with comprehensive insights into the challenges associated with the presence of iTFAs in the diet.
“Cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and stroke are the major killers of Pakistanis. Every single day delay in adopting best practice policy in eliminating iTFA from the diet means more people are dying due to this deadly substance lurking in our food supply” said Mukhtar Ahmed Ali, Executive Director, CPDI. “Pakistan is among the top consumer of iTFAs in the region due to absence of a comprehensive policy unlike other countries in the region” he added.
Partially Hydrogenated oils (PHO) are the major source of iTFAs and every single food where these oils are used contain these deadly substances in the diet. “Limiting iTFAs from the all dietary sources to no more than 2 percent of total fats through a single regulation and imposing ban on PHOs shall be good approach for Pakistan to address this concerning situation” said Munawar Hussain, Country Lead Pakistan at Global Health Advocacy Incubator.
Recent studies and market analysis of our food sources have highlighted the urgent need for measures to mitigate the adverse effects of these substances, which are commonly found in processed food items. “In a recent research, vanaspati ghee, tea whiteners, street foods, fried items, bakery items and ultra-processed foods are among the major sources of iTFAs in the food supply chain of Pakistan.” said Dr. Maidah Hussain, International Public Health Practitioner and Public Health Instructor at Sheikh Zayed Hospital Lahore.
The event was attended by the large number of leading journalists from print, electronic and social media. During the session, Pakistan’s health statistics, key gaps in food related policies and best practices from the regional and other countries were discussed. The media representatives expressed their concern over the grave situation of rising diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in the country. They highlighted that government need to take policy measures by declaring public health emergency to advance policies like limiting iTFAs from all dietary sources, imposing ban on PHOs, enacting front of pack nutrition labelling and warning signs on ultra-processed foods, regulating their marketing and removing unhealthy foods from public institutions, especially schools.
About CPDI
Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) is an independent, non-partisan and a not-for-profit civil society organization working on issues of peace and development in Pakistan that seeks to inform and influence public policies and civil society initiatives through research-based advocacy and capacity building۔
