Staff Reporter :
World Food Day is being observed today and its theme for the year is “Grow, Nourish, Sustain, Together. Our actions are our future”.
Industrially produced trans fat in food is one of the major causes for increased risks of heart diseases.
Globally, circa 250,000 people die of heart diseases due to consumption of trans fat-laden food. The fact of much greater concern is that Bangladesh ranks among the 15 countries with the highest burden of deaths from trans fat induced heart diseases, according to World Health Organization (WHO).
In a recent study, the National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute has found 92 per cent of sampled PHOs from Dhaka city to contain trans fat (TFA) levels above the two per cent limit set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
On the occasion of World Food Day, Executive Director of Advocacy Organization PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) Mr. ABM Zubair commented that, “Trans fat causes 4.41% of all the deaths from cardiovascular diseases in Bangladesh, according to WHO.
In order to ensure safe and trans fat free food, PROGGA urges to speedily enact policies following WHO guidelines of limiting trans fat to 2% of total fat in all fats, oils, and foods.
