A new report by the European consumer organization BEUC to the European Commission points out that East European consumers are consuming industrially produced trans fatty acids (TFA) is currently at greater risk than their Western neighbors. The alarming amount of TFA can still be found in many packaged foods, such as edible fats, biscuits, desserts, chips or food sold on the street like pizza or fries. Regular consumption of trans-fatty acids contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease and obesity.
BEUC notes that the only effective solution is legislative restrictions on the content of these substances in food. "Czech legislation now contains no such limits and producers are not required to know the presence of trans fatty acids on the product packaging. This means that even informed consumers or people with health problems have the option when selecting goods educated decision in the interest of their health, "said Luke Green, head of the legal department dtest.
dTest had recently tested edible vegetable fats, wafers and the wafers sold in Czech shops. In a series of laboratory products discovered high levels of TFA, an alarming finding was a 28% content of those substances listed in one of the edible vegetable fat. "Czech Republic should urgently take measures to protect the health of its citizens, it is the legislative restrictions TFA content in foods. Milder measures such as mandatory indication of the amount of TFA on product packaging or voluntary adjustment formulas from manufacturers fail to reliably protect consumers. Declaration on the packaging presupposes sufficiently informed consumer and voluntary adjustment formulas depends on the willingness of manufacturers, "says Luke Green.
The legislative restrictions acceded in 2004 Denmark, which bans the placing on the market of food containing more than two grams of TFA per hundred grams of fat. The Danish example was followed by Austria, Sweden, Switzerland and Iceland. BEUC argues that TFA in foods have been replaced mostly healthy mono-saturated fats, and the changes have no negative impact on the industry. By 13 December 2014 the European Commission to report on the presence of trans fats in foods and in the overall diet of the population of the European Union, or a legislative proposal regulating in this regard food supply.
Source: tz dTest.cz
