Concerns continue to mount over the growing pandemic of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), which account for more than 50 percent of hospitalizations and 39 percent of deaths in the country.
Key stakeholders are once again urging the government to protect public health by regulating the consumption of unhealthy foods, including saturated fats, through the strengthening of existing laws.
Experts have identified industrially produced trans fatty acids (iTFAs) as a significant contributor to NCDs.
While Kenya has Legal Notice No. 115 of 2015 under the Food, Drugs, and Chemical Substances Act (CAP 254), which addresses trans fat regulation, its enforcement remains a challenge due to the lack of specified limits on industrially produced trans fats (iTFAs).
“There is a need to reduce the burden of NCDs. We are advocating for the inclusion of specified limits in the legal notice. As it stands, without these limits, it is not implementable,” says Gideon Ogutu, Programme Officer for Health Governance at the International Institute for Legislative Affairs (ILA).
ILA is providing strategic support to national efforts in Kenya to implement robust regulatory frameworks on trans-fats, and if proposals by a technical committee are adopted, edible oil manufacturers will be required to limit their fatty acid levels to two grams per 100 grams of the total fat.
Speaking during an editors’ roundtable, Ogutu noted that Kenya, despite having a national policy commitment, should emulate countries like South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria, which have adopted trans fat elimination policies.
While emphasizing that trans fats offer zero health benefits, he stated that thousands of lives could be saved if edible oil manufacturers shifted their processing methods to eliminate trans fats, which are produced through partial hydrogenation to enhance flavor, texture, and shelf life
Research by The George Institute for Global Health and ILA found that enforcing WHO’s recommended trans fat limits could prevent over 100,000 new heart disease cases and save 50,000 lives in Kenya over time.
“For every dollar invested, there would be a return of 20 dollars, amounting to net savings of 271 million USD (~28 billion KES)”, the study reveals.
The media engagement comes in the wake of an appeal by the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) to the government to declare NCDs a national emergency, noting that they are now the leading cause of death after accidents.
“We call upon both the National and Counties governments to immediately enact laws and regulations that will require all food processors, to include clear, readable front-of-pack, warning labels and to address the targeting of children with advertisements for unhealthy foods,” the NCCK Chairman Rev Dr Alphonse Kanga said.
EXPLAINER-What are Industrial trans fats?
Industrial trans fats are a group of harmful substances produced during partial hydrogenation, a process where vegetable oils are hardened to solid fats that can be used in processed and fried foods.
They are also a well-known risk factor for heart disease, but can be substituted with healthier alternatives without affecting food quality.
The WHO lists elimination of industrial trans fat as an effective intervention for the prevention of noncommunicable diseases, like heart disease.
The organisation says the top two best-practice policies are setting a mandatory limit of 2g trans fat per 100g of total fat in all foods and a ban on the production and use of partially hydrogenated oils.
Globally, industrial trans fats are responsible for around 500,000 premature deaths from heart disease every year, mostly in low- and middle-income countries.
But only 56 countries have best-practice trans fat policies in place, most of which are high-income countries.
What are the dangers
- TFAs increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases
- TFAs raise insulin resistance
- TFAs promote systemic inflammation
- TFAs cause Endothelial dysfunction
