World Food Day: Stakeholders tasks govts to implement regulating framework for healthy feeding in Nigeria

Folalumi Alaran

As Nigeria joins the rest of the world in celebrating World Food Day in 2022, Executive Director Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Akinbode Oluwafemi has urged all levels of government on Monday to launch the ‘Gazette the Fats and Oils Regulation, 2021’, a regulations that will guarantee effective adherence by all food producers in Nigeria on improved access to safe and nourishing food.

Also Speaking at the press briefing, the project adviser Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED), Dr. Jerome Mafeni added that the early passage and implementation of the regulations which is a mandatory regulation to check the amount of trans-fatty acids TFA in the system will safeguard the health of Nigerians and reduce the inflow of TFA in the food markets.

With theme for 2022 World Food Day is ‘Leave No One Behind’, he noted that trans fats have been linked to increaseing risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancers, dementia and death.

He said, ” According to estimates by the World Health Organization, over 500, 000 persons died yearly resulting from complications associated with the consumption of foods high in trans fats. This statistic has led to the call for the global elimination of industrially produced trans-fat by 2023.

” Trans fats are fats produced from the industrial process of hydrogenation, whereby molecular hydrogen (H2) is added to vegetable oil, converting liquid fat to a semi solid and stable fat that have a long shelf life.Elimination of industrially produced TFA from food is feasible, and some countries are taking action, although until recently this has been mostly in wealthy countries. Efforts need to move beyond high-income countries so that everyone can benefit from TFA elimination.

In the same vein, he stated that the world’s food security is deteriorating and that food scarcity has reached an all-time high, putting a huge number of people at risk of going hungry, particularly in Nigeria.

He said, ” Over 2 billion people globally already do not have regular access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food, it is clear that new and effective strategies must be articulated and implemented to address this gap in food security.

He further called on stakeholders including governments, businesses, NGOs, the media, and general public to come together for joint reflection and action on how to address the challenges faced by those who suffer the most from hunger, by creating global awareness, hoping to promote food equity as well as the need to ensure healthy diets for all.