Taiwan to ban partially hydrogenated oils in 2018

From:CNA ENGLISH NEWS

Taipei, Feb. 22 (CNA) Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday issued advance notice that it will ban partially hydrogenated oils -- the primary dietary source of hazardous trans fats -- in food products starting in 2018.

Taiwan's Legislative Yuan passed an amendment to the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation in November 2015 to ban artificial trans fats from processed foods, with violators facing fines of up to NT$3 million (US$90,340).

Under the revised law, food manufacturers will have a three-year grace period to eliminate the cooking fat from their products.

According to standard administrative procedures, the FDA was required to give advance notice of the ban in early 2016 before a full ban is confirmed.

Trans fats are formed when vegetable oil goes through a process called hydrogenation, which makes the oil more stable and solid at room temperature and increases the shelf-life of the fat, the FDA's Food Safety Division Director Pan Chih-kuan (潘志宽) said.

Foreign studies have found, however, that excessive consumption of trans fats increases the chances of suffering from cardiovascular diseases and is a major cause of hazard to human health.

In September 2015, Taiwan's FDA issued a notice on standards for edible hydrogenated oils, and on Monday it announced a similar notice that it will ban partially hydrogenated oils.

The two sets of regulations, which do not require legislative approval, are both scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2018 after a three-year grace period.

Under the new rules, the use of partially hydrogenated oils will be banned from use in making processed food.

The move follows a measure taken on June 17, 2015 by the U.S. FDA requiring food makers to stop using the trans-fat producing oils over the next three years.

The Health Promotion Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare has said that an intake of between 4 to 5 grams of trans fat per day increases the possibility of coronary heart disease. (Lung Pei-ning and Evelyn Kao)

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