The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) through Press Release dated February 08, 2021 enacted the best practice policies to eliminate trans fats. India joins the club of around 40 countries globally that have already enacted regulations to limit the content of trans fats in all food items. Key pointers under the regulations include:
- Limiting industrial TFA to not more than 3% in all fats and oils by January 2021 and not more than 2% by January, 2022, gazette in December 2020;
- All food products in which edible oils and fats are used as an ingredient shall not contain industrial trans fatty acids more than 2% by mass of the total oils/fats present in the product, on and from 01st January, 2022 as per the regulation, Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Second Amendment Regulations, 2021 gazetted in February 2021;
- Defines “Industrial trans fatty acids (iTFAs) as – all the geometrical isomers of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids having non-conjugated, interrupted by at least one methylene group, carbon double bonds in the trans configuration. It excludes trans-fatty acids from dairy, meat, fish and their products.
