Policy makers in the Philippines have circulated guidelines for food companies to ban the use of trans-fatty acids (TSAs) in pre-packaged processed foods by next year. Regulators also seek to ban the use of on pack claims such as TRA-free. This ban follows a bill launched in 2020 and a Department of Health administrative order last year banning industrially produced TFA from pre-packaged processed foods. Data from the World Health Organization indicates that about 3,000 people in the Philippines die prematurely each year due to high consumption of TFA. Based on the new guidelines, it will be illegal to locally manufacture, import, distribute, use, or sell partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) as well as oils and fats blended with PHOs.

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Posted on 15 February 2022