Health Department to regulate trans fats in foods (South Africa)

"The Department of Health is in the process of consulting with stakeholders with the intention to develop legislation aimed at the reduction of certain trans-fats, in particular trans fatty acids deriving from the process of partial hydrogenation of vegetable oil, present in certain processed and prepared foods currently for sale in South Africa. The development and implementation of the legislation will contribute significantly to the reduction in risk of chronic diseases of lifestyle associated with the presence of trans fatty acids in the diet of South Africans, in line with the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, which was adopted in May 2004, at the 57th World Health Assembly (WHA). The Global Strategy fosters the formulation of national policies to improve, amongst others, diet, which provides a unique opportunity for the Department to assume a central role, through cooperation with relevant stakeholders, to implement regulatory measures that would reduce the intake of man-made trans fatty acids"