health

Argentina Celebrates New Year Free of Trans Fats

Medialunas with coffee and milk, a classic breakfast in Argentina, in a typical Buenos Aires café. From now on, these small croissants will have to be free of trans fats. Credit: Fabiana Frayssinet/IPS

BUENOS AIRES, Jan 3 2015 (IPS) – After adopting a new law banning trans fats in industrially processed foods, Argentina is starting out the new year with an improved public health outlook. The challenge now is for the food industry to incorporate the new rules, in an adaptation process that started four years ago.

“This is an important step for making progress in the prevention of cerebrovascular and cardiac diseases because it has been proven that these fats are harmful to health, as they increase bad cholesterol (LDL) and reduce the good kind (HDL),” Lorena Allemandi, director of the healthy food policies area in the Argentine branch of the (IAHF), told IPS.

The law, in effect since Dec. 10 as part of the Food Code, limits trans fatty acids in processed foods to two percent of the total in the case of vegetable oils and margarines for direct consumption and five percent in other foods.

Based on various studies, the Health Ministry predicts that with this measure alone, Argentina could reduce the rate of coronary disease by six percent in just four or five years.Policies to tackle modern-day health problems
The elimination of trans fats from processed foods in Argentina joins other public policies aimed at reducing the consumption of salt and smoking, as well as increasing physical activity.
“Today we are fatter and more sedentary than our grandparents,” said Sebastián Laspiur. “There have been multidimensional changes. They ate fewer processed foods, and more homemade food; life was different. There was more time to cook, and people moved around more. There have been profound social and cultural changes,” he said, referring to modern-day risk factors.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), consuming just five grams a day of trans fatty acids increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases by 25 percent.
In 2008, the Trans-Fat-Free Americas initiative was launched in Rio de Janeiro, aimed at replacing trans fatty acids in food production. A number of important companies have adhered to the effort.

That could save 1,500 lives and prevent some 2,800 heart attacks and over 5,000 coronary events a year, said Sebastián Laspiur, the Health Ministry’s director of health promotion and control of non-transmissible diseases.

It would also save the national health system an estimated 100 million dollars, in cardiovascular complications and treatment, he added in an interview with IPS.

He said that even more importantly, it would boost social inclusion by benefiting in particular “the most vulnerable sectors, who tend to consume foods with more trans fats, because they are cheaper and sometimes they have less access to other kinds of food.”

Trans fatty acids are created during the process of hydrogenation of vegetable oils, which solidifies liquid oils to prevent them from becoming rancid and to keep them solid at room temperature. They are used mainly in industrially processed foods.

“They were thought to be better [than fats of animal origin], but over the years studies were carried out, and by the late 1990s there was no doubt that they are bad for our health,” said Laspiur.

Argentina has joined Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland in virtually banning trans fats, and has become the first country in the developing South to do so. Chile is set to follow suit, in 2016.

In Argentina the process began in December 2010, when the food industry was given two years to reduce trans fatty acids in vegetable oils and margarines and four years to reduce it in other foods. The deadline was Dec. 3, 2014.

But mandatory food labeling for trans fats was introduced in 2006.

Laspiur believes there will be no problem reaching full compliance with the new rules, thanks to the reduction period, the food industry’s “broad cooperation,” and oversight by the authorities.

A 2013 study by the IAHF of 878 products from the main brands sold in supermarkets found that 42 were still over the limit, including granola bars, frosting, “alfajors” traditional shortbread cookies with a dulce de leche filling – and other bakery products.

Trans fats were widely incorporated in processed foods because they cut costs, help preserve food, extend the shelf life, and keep frosting from melting, Allamandi said.

Enforcing the new rules among small and medium companies will be a challenge, she added.

“Vulnerable sectors are hit harder by risk factors, and this kind of policy is along those lines,” said Allamandi. “The challenge will be small and medium size companies because many of them are outside the big cities or are frequented by more vulnerable sectors because they have lower prices. It’s important for these companies to respect the new rules.”

Another challenge will be enforcing the new rules in small bakeries or microenterprises that make baked goods like medialunas, as croissants are known in Argentina.

Laspiur acknowledged that oversight and enforcement is more difficult among small-scale businesses. But he also said there would be “indirect” compliance with the new law.

“Small-scale businesses like bakeries make their products using margarine and frosting that they buy from larger companies, which won’t be allowed to use margarines with trans fats…that means they will not use these ingredients because their suppliers will have already eliminated them.”

The high-level official also said the baking industry association is already cooperating with other health policies, such as the reduction of salt in their products in order to help decrease the risk of hypertension.
Related IPS Articles

He also said fast food chains, which use ingredients from outside suppliers of baked goods and sweets, would cooperate.

Healthy alternatives to trans fatty acids depend on each product. Vegetable oils are recommended, or else saturated animal fats.

Public institutes are working to find low-cost alternatives to hydrogenated oil.

National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) researchers are working on two strategies in the Institute of Polymer and Nanotechnology.

The first involves the use of a new kind of high oleic-high stearic sunflower, which contains high levels of saturated fatty acids, and the second involves the production of protein-stabilised emulsion gels.

“The main advantage of the alternatives that we’re investigating is that they use raw materials that are abundant in our country,” the head of the group working on the projects, Lidia Herrera, told IPS. “From a health standpoint, the high oleic-high stearic sunflower’s main saturated fatty acid is stearic acid, which is considered neutral with respect to blood-cholesterol levels.

“The production of protein-stabilised gels makes it possible to obtain solid products using liquid fats that contain fatty acids essential to health; this way we wouldn’t be eating saturated or trans fatty acids,” she said.

The next step is to carry out pilot studies, before scaling up the effort to an industrial level.

“We don’t have cost analyses, but since the raw materials are available in Argentina, it will be simpler for our industries to get these products. At any rate, the processes involved do not require advanced technology, which means it should be comparable to importing palm oil,” Herrera added.

Many companies use interesterified fats which have been chemically or enzymatically altered by combining stearic acid with vegetable oils – in this case, imported palm oil containing unsaturated fat. “Because we are a country that produces raw materials, it’s an advantage to be able to use our own ingredients,” Herrera added.

So people in Argentina can rest assured that they’ll keep eating their beloved medialunas. “If they’re free of trans fats, they won’t disappear,” Allemandi said.

Edited by Estrella Gutiérrez/Translated by Stephanie Wildes

 

Related Posts

PlayStation Plus Moving Away From Monthly PS4 Games

Sony has announced a key change for the future of PlayStation Plus. Sony will shift away from offering PS4 games as it looks to focus on PS5 games instead. Sony said it’s making this change as part of the evolution of PS Plus overall Come from online casino bangladesh . This isn’t starting soon, though, and will begin in January 2026.

“As we shift to PS5, PS4 games will no longer be a key benefit and will only be occasionally offered for PlayStation Plus Monthly Games and Game Catalog starting January 2026. We may still provide titles that can be playable on both PS4 and PS5 consoles after this date,” Sony said.

PS4 games that players have already redeemed from PS Plus are not affected, provided players stay subscribed to Pl…

Saquon Barkley's No-Look Hurdle Has Been Added To Madden NFL 25

In the NFL, when players pull off something special on the field, fans occasionally refer to it as a “video-game move.” But Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley took that to another level earlier this season when he evaded a defender by jumping over him while looking the other way. EA couldn’t resist adding that no-look hurdle to the latest update for Madden NFL 25, but Barkley is the only player who can use it and it’s not easy to pull off.

As part of the notes for the new Madden NFL 25 update, EA explained that the development team immediately decided to put Barkley’s “once-in-a-lifetime move” in the game by combing through hours of motion-capture footage. From there, they determined which animations could be modified to recreate Barkley’s leap, with some additional h…

Resistance 4 Was Pitched But Didn't Work Out, Says Former Insomniac Boss

According to former Insomniac Games boss Ted Price, a Resistance 4 game was pitched but ultimately wasn’t made.

In an interview with Kinda Funny Games, Ted Price, said, “We did pitch that one. It was a wonderful concept, and in terms of timing and market opportunity, it didn’t work out.” When asked whether Resistance 3’s poor sales at the time impacted the decision to move on from the series, Price didn’t answer directly.

“Resistance 3 was intended to end that chapter of the Resistance franchise,” he explained. “With the way we ended with [protagonist] Capelli and closed a lot of loops on various smaller story items…we wanted to do that so we could have more options in the future, whether we would go ahead with more Resistance games or taking another turn.”

Star Wars- Legion Is Super Cheap For Prime Day – Plus, More Star Wars Board Game Deals

We’ve seen plenty of great Star Wars video games hit the market over the past few years, but the same is also true for Star Wars board games. Legion is one of the most popular options, pitting two players against each other in strategy battles that can run for up to three hours. It’s also one of the most expensive at $120–but for Prime Day, you can get it for just $89. Come from online casino bangladesh

That’s one of the lowest prices of the year. The base game includes 33 highly detailed miniatures, a comprehensive rulebook, and all the cards and pieces you need to dive into the complex game. The game is an easy recommendation for Star Wars fans now that it’s listed for less than $120, though we’re sure Amazon …

Elden Ring's Miyazaki Named To Time's 100 Most Influential People List For 2023

Time Magazine’s annual list of the world’s top 100 most influential people has arrived, and the list includes one person from the world of video games. From Software’s Hidetaka Miyazaki, the director of Elden Ring, Bloodborne, and Dark Souls, lands on the list in the “Innovator” section. Come from Sports betting site VPbet

Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann profiled Miyazaki for Time, writing that Miyazaki’s games originally made him feel “miserable” because Druckmann’s character died over and over again. But Druckmann, and gamers all over the place who stick with Miyazaki’s games, may end up having a breakthrough. That’s what makes Miyazaki such a great designer, Druckmann said.

Ark- Ultimate Survivor Edition Coming To Switch in September

Ark: Ultimate Survivor Edition is coming to the Nintendo Switch in September, bundling together the base game alongside several expansion packs. This includes the Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, and both Genesis parts, and will retail for $50 when it arrives on Nintendo’s hybrid gaming system.

For those players who already own Ark’s regular edition on Switch, they’ll receive a complete revamp of functionality, graphics, and optimization for the game Come from Sports betting site VPbet . Ark developer Studio Wildcard says that a third-party developer has been hired to lead the charge on this new version of Ark, which has resulted in the game’s Switch code being entirely rewritten and developed on the latest version…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *