House panel OKs bill regulating trans fatty acids

MANILA, Philippines — A panel of the House of Representatives has approved a measure that will eliminate the use of industrially produced trans fatty acids (TFA) from the country’s food chains, as lawmakers help promote health, clean living and prevent serious illnesses.

House Bill 9083 and four other related pieces of legislation have been consolidated and incorporated into one substitute bill given the green light by the House ways and means committee led by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda.

High trans fat intake has been found to cause cholesterol build-up in arteries – and increase in coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality risk by 21 percent and 28 percent, respectively – among individuals.

Coronary heart disease consistently ranks as the leading cause of death worldwide, with a 34 percent mortality risk, and is a known comorbidity of COVID -19.

A salient feature of the anti-TFA measure was Section 25 of HB 9083 authored by Rep. LRay Villafuerte, which provides that the “importation of laboratory equipment for testing TFA would be exempt from the payment of customs duties and taxes.”

“TFAs have no health benefits. Based on the pronouncements of the World Health Organization (WHO), eliminating TFA from our diet is one of the simplest public health interventions to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and improve nutritional quality of our food,” the Camarines Sur congressman said.

Trans fat is also called trans-unsaturated fatty acids or trans fatty acids, which naturally occurs in small amounts in meat and milk fat. Consumption of such acids is believed to increase the risk of atherosclerosis, or the thickening or hardening of the arteries.

An unsaturated fatty acid is found in margarine and manufactured cooking oil, a result of the hydrogenation process or a trans arrangement of carbon atoms adjacent to their double bonds.

The Salceda panel specifically approved the tax provisions of the Villafuerte bill, and similar other measures that also aim to “strictly regulate” food products with TFAs.

The panel also approved Section 30, which provides that within two years from its effectivity, food manufacturers would comply with the additional requirements for certificate of product registration as determined by the Food and Drug Administration.

The House committee on health, headed by Quezon Rep. Angelina Tan, approved in December 2021 the regulatory aspects of the substitute measure.

To reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and other non-communicable diseases, WHO has set a goal of a trans fat-free world by 2023 and urges countries to adopt measures to eliminate trans fats from their food supply.

Villafuerte’s bill is in response to the WHO’s call to protect people from TFA’s harmful effects.