And here it is:-
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">15 January 2008
We received a petition asking:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to place an upper limit on trans fats both in food and in oils and fats used in the preparation of food."
Details of Petition:
"Trans fats are stealth killers lurking in our food, causing the early death and debility of many thousands of people a year in the UK. They are mainly found in (partially) hydrogenated vegetable oil, common ingredients in thousands of food products. Research in the US has found that thousands of people are dying prematurely of coronary heart disease and this is likely to be the case in the UK too. And that's without looking at the role of trans fats in causing Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes, omega-3 essential fatty acid deficiency and other disabling and life-threatening conditions. This petition calls on the Government to place an upper limit on trans fats both in food, and in oils and fats used in the preparation of food, as has already taken place in Denmark and about to be implemented in New York restaurants."
* Read the petition
* Petitions home page
Read the Government's response
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) reviewed the evidence of the health effects of trans fats in December last year, and its Board recommended to UK Health Ministers that voluntary measures to reduce trans fats in food had resulted in such low consumer intakes that mandatory restrictions are not necessary. The Board took into account the relative situations in the United States and the introduction of mandatory restrictions in Denmark when reaching its decision.
Voluntary action by the UK food industry has already delivered consumer benefits equivalent to the most restrictive legislation. As a consequence, average dietary intakes in the UK have come down to just one per cent of food energy - half of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition's (SACN) recommended maximum intake. SACN recommends that the average trans fat intake should not exceed two per cent of food energy.
In contrast, saturated fat poses a far greater health risk for the UK population than trans fat because the amount people eat is well above the recommended level of 11 per cent - at around 13.3 per cent. Saturated fat is a major contributor to heart disease, which is the leading cause of premature death in this country.
The FSA made its recommendation to Alan Johnson on 19 December 2007 and the Department of Health will make the final decision as to whether legislation is required in due course.
The FSA's recommendations can be found on its website. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page14268.asp
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">15 January 2008
We received a petition asking:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to place an upper limit on trans fats both in food and in oils and fats used in the preparation of food."
Details of Petition:
"Trans fats are stealth killers lurking in our food, causing the early death and debility of many thousands of people a year in the UK. They are mainly found in (partially) hydrogenated vegetable oil, common ingredients in thousands of food products. Research in the US has found that thousands of people are dying prematurely of coronary heart disease and this is likely to be the case in the UK too. And that's without looking at the role of trans fats in causing Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes, omega-3 essential fatty acid deficiency and other disabling and life-threatening conditions. This petition calls on the Government to place an upper limit on trans fats both in food, and in oils and fats used in the preparation of food, as has already taken place in Denmark and about to be implemented in New York restaurants."
* Read the petition
* Petitions home page
Read the Government's response
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) reviewed the evidence of the health effects of trans fats in December last year, and its Board recommended to UK Health Ministers that voluntary measures to reduce trans fats in food had resulted in such low consumer intakes that mandatory restrictions are not necessary. The Board took into account the relative situations in the United States and the introduction of mandatory restrictions in Denmark when reaching its decision.
Voluntary action by the UK food industry has already delivered consumer benefits equivalent to the most restrictive legislation. As a consequence, average dietary intakes in the UK have come down to just one per cent of food energy - half of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition's (SACN) recommended maximum intake. SACN recommends that the average trans fat intake should not exceed two per cent of food energy.
In contrast, saturated fat poses a far greater health risk for the UK population than trans fat because the amount people eat is well above the recommended level of 11 per cent - at around 13.3 per cent. Saturated fat is a major contributor to heart disease, which is the leading cause of premature death in this country.
The FSA made its recommendation to Alan Johnson on 19 December 2007 and the Department of Health will make the final decision as to whether legislation is required in due course.
The FSA's recommendations can be found on its website. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page14268.asp