Egypt — one of the highest trans fat consumers in the world — is working to limit the dangerous fat in food in line with World Health Organisation standards, officials told The National after a warning this week on the dire health impact.
The WHO on Monday warned that 5 billion people are being exposed to higher rates of heart disease due to trans-fatty acids despite efforts to eliminate trans fats globally by 2023.
But Egypt's National Food Safety Authority chairman Dr Tareq El Houby said that a bill signed last year should bring the country in line with international standards.
Under the decree from the NFSA published in the country's official gazette last October, manufacturers and importers will be limited to two grams of trans fat per 100 grams of total fat in all food within 12 months.
The changes would bring Egypt in line with WHO advice on safer levels of trans fats - which are commonly found in margarine, fried foods, sweets, packaged goods and fast food items, and increase the risk of heart disease and death.
Manufacturers are also prohibited from using partially hydrogenated oils, a major source of trans fat.
“I think a year is enough for [manufacturers and importers] to make the necessary arrangements,” Dr El Houby told The National.
“This is not a choice — it’s an obligation.”
Egypt has the world’s highest percentage of coronary heart disease deaths due to trans fats and has not yet implemented a best practice policy, the WHO said on Monday.
The WHO report, produced with the non-profit organisation Resolve to Save Lives, found that five billion people globally are exposed to the harmful fat.
The WHO issued an appeal in 2018 for industrially produced fatty acids in foods to be eliminated worldwide by 2023.
An estimated 8.39 per cent of Egypt’s coronary heart disease deaths are due to trans fat intake, followed by the US at 7.57 per cent and Iran at 6.96 per cent.
Nine of the 16 countries with the highest proportion of coronary heart disease deaths caused by trans fats do not have a best-practice policy. They are Australia, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Ecuador, Egypt, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan and South Korea.
Dr Tom Frieden, president of Resolve to Save Lives and former director of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said Egypt's move to remove trans fat shows change is on the horizon.
“We commend the government of Egypt for taking decisive action to eliminate trans fat and are very encouraged that, if implemented, Egypt will meet the WHO target of becoming trans-fat-free by the end of 2023,” he told The National.
The WHO report said that supporting the policy process in Egypt “will be a priority for WHO and partners in the next year”.
Commitment to eliminate trans fat
In the Mena region, only Oman and Saudi Arabia have best-practice policies.
The UAE, Bahrain, Iran and Kuwait have some trans fat limits. Jordan, Tunisia and Qatar have implemented other complementary measures.
Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco have expressed a national policy commitment to eliminate trans fat, the WHO report said.
In 2017, Egypt’s five-year national plan for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases set a goal to “replace trans fats and saturated fats with unsaturated fats through reformulation, labelling and fiscal and agricultural policies”.
Non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases, account for around 85 per cent of all deaths in the country.
Egypt established the NFSA in 2017 to protect consumers’ health and interests by ensuring that food consumed, distributed, marketed or produced in Egypt meets the highest standards of food safety and hygiene.
Resolve to Save Lives has worked with and supported the WHO's Eastern Mediterranean office since 2018, with “Egypt as one of the priority countries”, Dr Frieden said.
This included technical support to develop trans fat regulations and measure trans fat content in foods.
“It took a long time to be able to develop a system of risk assessment and traceability,” said Dr El Houby.
A third of foods exceed limit
A 2021 study published in the scientific journal Nutrients examined the trans fat content of 208 commonly consumed food items in the Egyptian market and found that 34 per cent of the products exceeded the trans fat limit.
The authors, who included Egyptian medical academics and WHO representatives, referred to it as “the first steps in the trans fatty acid elimination road map”.
The categories included fats and oils, milk and milk products, confectioneries, canned and frozen items, fast-food items and sweets.
The fast-food group had the largest proportion of products rich in trans fat, with half of the items exceeding the limit.
Meat sambousek, a deep-fried savoury pastry, had the highest trans fat content of 5.4 per cent, followed by falafel and mixed meat grills.
Frying foods with used oils had a major impact on the trans fat content, with falafel and potatoes made with used oils having more than four times the content of those prepared with new oil.
Some traditional Egyptian meat items, such as frozen kebbah and kofta, had trans fat content that exceeded those of Western items such as chicken nuggets and luncheon meat.
Sweets such as basbousa and zalabia had a trans fat content three times higher than doughnuts.
Poverty a factor
Some of the challenges in limiting or eliminating trans fat in Egypt include resistance towards regulations by the food industry, as well as the higher cost of healthier alternatives for the manufacturers and consumers, the authors of the study said.
Egypt’s poverty rate of about 30 per cent and an illiteracy rate of around 25 per cent are also contributing factors.
Low-income customers are more likely to consume products with higher trans fat content since they are often cheaper and those who are illiterate are unable to read nutrition labels.
The study recommended that the Egyptian government collaborate with the food and beverage industry to reformulate their products, enforce the relevant legal reforms and empower consumers through educational interventions and consumer-friendly nutrient labels.
Dr El Houby said the NFSA is working on nutrient label guidelines, so that the trans fat percentage is clear to consumers.
Regulation of trans fat content will start with the industrial sector, followed by the so-called “loose market”, such as food stalls.
“That will be the second stage. We can't achieve everything all at once,” Dr El Houby said.
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World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.
The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
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Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
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Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Structural%20weaknesses%20facing%20Israel%20economy
%3Cp%3E1.%20Labour%20productivity%20is%20lower%20than%20the%20average%20of%20the%20developed%20economies%2C%20particularly%20in%20the%20non-tradable%20industries.%3Cbr%3E2.%20The%20low%20level%20of%20basic%20skills%20among%20workers%20and%20the%20high%20level%20of%20inequality%20between%20those%20with%20various%20skills.%3Cbr%3E3.%20Low%20employment%20rates%2C%20particularly%20among%20Arab%20women%20and%20Ultra-Othodox%20Jewish%20men.%3Cbr%3E4.%20A%20lack%20of%20basic%20knowledge%20required%20for%20integration%20into%20the%20labour%20force%2C%20due%20to%20the%20lack%20of%20core%20curriculum%20studies%20in%20schools%20for%20Ultra-Othodox%20Jews.%3Cbr%3E5.%20A%20need%20to%20upgrade%20and%20expand%20physical%20infrastructure%2C%20particularly%20mass%20transit%20infrastructure.%3Cbr%3E6.%20The%20poverty%20rate%20at%20more%20than%20double%20the%20OECD%20average.%3Cbr%3E7.%20Population%20growth%20of%20about%202%20per%20cent%20per%20year%2C%20compared%20to%200.6%20per%20cent%20OECD%20average%20posing%20challenge%20for%20fiscal%20policy%20and%20underpinning%20pressure%20on%20education%2C%20health%20care%2C%20welfare%20housing%20and%20physical%20infrastructure%2C%20which%20will%20increase%20in%20the%20coming%20years.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
