On Jan. 9, the Ministry of Public Health promulgated a ban on the production, importation and sales of food products containing PHO.
Thailand is the first ASEAN member that has banned the use of PHOs in foods. The minister of MOPH said, "Thailand government has banned the use of industrially produced trans-fatty acids in foods to reduce people's risk of cardiovascular disease." The secretary of Thailand FDA also said, "Relevant authorities have recalled food products containing synthetic PHOs and will step up their efforts to supervise and inspect the market. Violators will be fined 5,000 baht to 20,000 baht (about US 627 dollars) and can be detained for 6 months to 2 years."
Influence on Thailand's Market
Wassaphon Saengseethong, a prominent food industry expert believes, "since PHO is mainly used in making cakes, bread, biscuit, cream, etc., the new regulation may influence small food manufacturers and bakeries. Large companies have already adapted to the new regulation. The price of food and drinks will be temporarily influenced but should revert back to pre-regulation values soon."
Case in China
According to the WHO, Europe still leads the world in terms of eliminating synthetic PHOs in foods. China still lags behind international best practices, relevant reforms targeting this sector can be seen below:
In 2011, China issued its national standard GB 28050 National Food Safety Standard General Rules for Nutrition Labeling of Prepackaged Foods, which specified as follows:
The content of trans-fat (fatty acid) shall be listed in the nutrition information if ingredients contain hydrogenated fat and (or) partially hydrogenated fat, or it/they are used in the production process.
For food products, whose trans fatty acids content are less than 0.3 g/100g (solid) or 100ml (liquid), they can mark "None or does not contain trans fatty acids" on the label.
Daily intake of trans fatty acids should not exceed 2.2g and should be less than 1% of total daily energy; excessive intake of trans fatty acids is harmful to health.
On May 14, 2018, WHO released a notice and plans to eliminate the use of synthetic trans-fatty acids globally, which have been identified as one of the priority targets of WHO's strategic plan (2019-2023). What will China do? Will it prohibit the use of PHO?
Lynn Chan, an experienced food regulatory expert working here at Reach24H said, "Driven by market demand, most of the hydrogenated oils used in China's market don't contain synthetic trans fatty acids. In addition, according to what was revealed in the exposure draft of GB 28050-2018, nothing changed about the labeling/content requirements for trans-fatty acids. It looks like China won't prohibit their use in the following 5 years.”
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