World Food Day: Forums decry trans-fat foods’ deaths

As part of activities marking this year’s World Food Day, the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) and the Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED) have raised concerns over fatalities attributable to trans-fat food consumption in Nigeria.

Speaking during a media briefing yesterday in Abuja, the executive director of CAPPA, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said that more Nigerians are now getting heart diseases, diabetes, obesity, cancers, dementia and deaths from consumption of imported vegetable oil that have high trans-fats content.

According to him, trans-fats are fats produced from the industrial process of hydrogenation, whereby molecular hydrogen (H2) is added to vegetable oil, converting liquid fat to a semi-solid and stable fat to have a long shelf life.

CAPPA and NHED are members of the coalition of CSOs working towards the elimination of trans-fat in Nigeria.

According to Oluwafemi, represented by the Director of Programmes of the organisation, Mr. Philip Jakpor, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and others concerned must take urgent action to stem the tide.