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By Doris Obinna
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDC), has said it has gazetted the reviewed Fats, Oil and Food Containing Fats and Oil Regulation 2022, in a bid to safeguard the health of Nigerians.
NAFDAC said, with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounting for 74 per cent of all deaths worldwide, it is scaling up efforts towards the elimination of trans fatty acid (TFAs) from food supplies.
Speaking, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, the agency in collaboration with the Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED), Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) and Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), gazetted Pre-Packaged Food Labelling Regulation 2022.
She lamented that more than 36 million people die annually from NCDs, adding that among these, cardiovascular diseases, CVDs, are the number one cause of death, accounting for 17.5 million deaths annually.
She said in Nigeria, NCDs are estimated to account for about a quarter of total deaths in the country. “This means that the probability of dying between ages 30 and 70 years from NCDs is 20 per cent,” she disclosed.
Adeyeye stated that at the 2018 World Health Assembly in Geneva, the World Health Organisation (WHO), released an action package called REPLACE that includes policy recommendations and interventions for world leaders, adding that part of the recommendations was to ban the use of partially hydrogenated oils, that is the source of industrially produced TFAs, in all foods and to set limits on the amount of industrially produced TFAs, to not more than two per cent of the total fat content in all Foods.
She said that in Nigeria, NCDs were estimated to account for about a quarter of total deaths, noting that the probability of dying between ages 30 and 70 years from NCDs is 20 per cent.
“NAFDAC gazetted two regulations on fat and oil to determine the minimum amount allowable in foods to safeguard the health of Nigerians. We also have the labelling gazette that will show the quantity of milligrams of fat and oil in our food.
“This regulation has also addressed the second pathway for elimination of industrial TFAs with the limit of not more than two per cent (0.02ppm) of the total fats in fat, oil and food containing fats and oil products as recommended by WHO.
“In addition, the Pre-packaged Food Labelling Regulation 2005 has also been reviewed to take care of the labelling requirement for Trans-fats hence we now have a reviewed and gazetted Pre-Packaged Food Labelling Regulation 2022.”
The Executive Director, CAPPA, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said with the regulations in place, stakeholders will be able to combat some risk factors of NCDs, while applauding NAFDAC for its resilience and dedication to safeguarding the health of the Nation through partnerships.
On her part, the Nigeria Coordinator, GHAI, Joy Amafah said since the inception of the WHO REPLACE Action Framework, over 43 countries have passed relevant policies to set standards for TFA consumption in line with global best practices.
“Nigeria now stands as the first country in West Africa and the 2nd country in Africa after South Africa to set mandatory standards for TFA, maintaining their place as the giant of Africa and an example for others within the region to emulate.”
Amafah assured that GHAI will continue to partner with NAFDAC and relevant MDAs on their related food programmes towards achieving healthier food options and ultimately, curbing morbidities and mortalities caused by NCDs.
