Trans fat under the microscope
Source: Xinhua |
November 10, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA'S Ministry of Health has been working to evaluate the health risks of trans fat and may amend national standards for food preparation, said a spokesman yesterday.
The ministry has brought together officials and experts to evaluate the impact of trans fat - also known as unsaturated fat - on human health as well as monitor the intake of trans fat among the Chinese people, said Deng Haihua, the ministry spokesman, at a regular press conference.
"Based on the results, the ministry will amend the related standards according to the legal procedure," he said.
The remark was in response to media reports on the common practice in the food processing industry of partially hydrogenating vegetable oils to replace natural animal fat.
The process of hydrogenating unsaturated plant fats, such as vegetable oils, produces trans fat, which may increase the risk of heart disease, noted officials.
According to monitoring carried out by the National Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2003, the average daily intake of trans fat per capita in China was 0.6 grams.
"The intake of trans fat among Chinese is not as much as in Western countries because of different diets," said Zhang Jian, research fellow of the institute.
However, a report issued by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2003 suggested that the intake of trans fat should not exceed 1 percent of the diet. "It means the intake of trans fat should not exceed 2g per person every day," Zhang said.
The increasing intake of Western fast food and snacks in Chinese society has raised concerns about trans fat.
Zhao Lin, nutritionist with the People's Liberation Army General Hospital and senior consultant of the Health Ministry, was quoted by CCTV last week as saying that trans fat has been widely found in processed food in China.
Deng told the press conference that the ministry will tighten the management on food producers and supervise them to label the trans fat on the packages.
The ministry has brought together officials and experts to evaluate the impact of trans fat - also known as unsaturated fat - on human health as well as monitor the intake of trans fat among the Chinese people, said Deng Haihua, the ministry spokesman, at a regular press conference.
"Based on the results, the ministry will amend the related standards according to the legal procedure," he said.
The remark was in response to media reports on the common practice in the food processing industry of partially hydrogenating vegetable oils to replace natural animal fat.
The process of hydrogenating unsaturated plant fats, such as vegetable oils, produces trans fat, which may increase the risk of heart disease, noted officials.
According to monitoring carried out by the National Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2003, the average daily intake of trans fat per capita in China was 0.6 grams.
"The intake of trans fat among Chinese is not as much as in Western countries because of different diets," said Zhang Jian, research fellow of the institute.
However, a report issued by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2003 suggested that the intake of trans fat should not exceed 1 percent of the diet. "It means the intake of trans fat should not exceed 2g per person every day," Zhang said.
The increasing intake of Western fast food and snacks in Chinese society has raised concerns about trans fat.
Zhao Lin, nutritionist with the People's Liberation Army General Hospital and senior consultant of the Health Ministry, was quoted by CCTV last week as saying that trans fat has been widely found in processed food in China.
Deng told the press conference that the ministry will tighten the management on food producers and supervise them to label the trans fat on the packages.
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