The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in its commitment to eliminating trans-fats from Nigeria’s food supply announced the gazetting of two important reviewed regulations viz: The “Fats and Oils Regulations 2022” and the “Fats and Oils Pre-packaged Food Labeling Regulations 2022 on the 7thof August 2023 in Lagos. The regulations aim to reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by eliminating Trans-Fatty Acids from the food supply.
The Director General of NAFDAC Professor Mojisola Adeyeye pointed out the emergence of the two reviewed regulations implies that the 2005 version of these two regulations stands repealed without jeopardy from whatever was purportedly done in the spirit of the old versions.
The World Health Organization estimated that non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and chronic lung disease are collectively responsible for 74% of all deaths worldwide, that is more than 36 million people die annually from Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the number one cause of death, accounting for 17.5 million deaths annually. NCDs are estimated to account for about a quarter of total deaths in Nigeria. The probability of dying between 30 & 70 years from the main NCDs is 20%.
NAFDAC has as a part of the world food regulatory bodies taken preventive measures in safeguarding the health of Nigerian citizens by enacting these regulations which are in line with the World Health Assembly Geneva 2018 resolutions where all countries were called on to ban the use of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) from the global food supplies as these are the source of industrially produced Trans-Fatty Acids (TFAs). The revised fats and oils regulations and prepackaged foods labeling regulations include limits for fats, oils, and foods containing fats and oils not exceeding 2% of the total fat content in all foods. Those food products with claims of being trans fats free must meet this standard.
These new regulations are the result of collaborative efforts between NAFDAC, the Federal Ministry of Health, the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), the Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED), and other Trans Fat-Free Nigeria Coalition partners.
Dr. Jerome Mafeni the Technical Advisor on TFAs Campaign – Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED) commended NAFDAC Leadership for opening the door for the partnership between NHED and CSO partners with NAFDAC which has brought about the successful gazetting of these new regulations. He said the revised regulations speak to public health being provided without the Nigerian citizens knowing their health has been impacted and the collaboration on this activity is a great example of a successful public-private partnership. The Director General NAFDAC Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye has committed to fully implementing and utilizing the regulations to protect the health of the public
Related Information:
Punch – NAFDAC warns against fatty food consumption
People’s Gazette – NAFDAC gazettes two regulations on fat oil to safeguard Nigerians
Vangaurd – NCDs… NAFDAC restrategises to eliminate solid fats in foods.
