Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye has unveiled two gazetted regulations on fats, oil, and food.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) provided statistical information that shows that Non-Communicable Diseases(NCDs) which include heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and chronic lung disease collectively account for 74 per cent of deaths worldwide. This translates to about 36 million deaths annually due to NCDs.
Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) are also the number one cause of death with 17.5 million people dying annually from these diseases; high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and rheumatic heart disease, among other conditions.
In complying with world standards set in 2018 in Geneva where the WHO Assembly called on countries to eliminate industrially-produced Trans fats – Trans Fatty acids (iTFAs) from global food supplies, NAFDAC is reviewing the acts to make them more effective.
This came to bear during a news briefing in Lagos, where the DG NAFDAC, Professor Adeyeye outlined the importance of the policy review to include,
“Banning the use of partially hydrogenated oils, that is the source of industrially produced iTFAs, in all foods and setting limits on the amount of industrially produced iTFAs produced to not more than two per cent of the total fat content in all Foods.
“NAFDAC with the cooperation and support of the Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Ministry of Justice, and the Trans-Fat Coalition Partners in Nigeria have worked assiduously towards achieving the two-pronged pathways. The coalition partners include but are not limited to the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED), and Corporate Accountability & Public Participation Africa (CAPPA).
She says” I am delighted to announce that in Nigeria we are already working with the industry and our partners to find alternative sources to the existing partially hydrogenated oils that are the source of industrially produced Trans-fats, (iTFA).”
“Most importantly we have reviewed the Fats and Oil Regulation 2005 and we have a newly gazetted reviewed regulation known as Fats, Oil and Food Containing Fats and Oil Regulation 2022. This regulation has addressed the second pathway for eliminating industrial iTFAs 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. Adeyeye said
” 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,” Adeyeye added.
Executive Director, Corporate Accountability & Public Participation in Africa (CAPPA), Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi, who is one of the partners working towards creating a Nigeria with lower fat levels, said he looked forward to the journey that would reduce health issues in Nigeria.
“The gazette of the regulations Fats, Oils, and Food containing Fats and Oils 2022 that is being celebrated is the highpoint of a journey that began in 2018 when draft regulations were conceived and subsequently opened for input from the public and critical stakeholders before NAFDAC Governing Council approved them. This briefing marks the end of that phase and the beginning of a new phase where the media must continue to play a key role in educating the public on the contents of the regulations.”
Oluwafemi.
“With these regulations, we will be able to combat some risk factors of NCDs like other partners have rightly noted and we will have more time dedicated to other emerging issues around diet-related health burdens,” he concluded.
Among the dignitaries that attended are the Director, of the Food Safety and Quality Programme at the Federal Ministry of Health, John O. Atanda, Adesoji Andrew Afolabi of the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Coordinator of Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), Joy Amafah, among others.
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