CSE takes on vanaspati industry

Sunita Narain, who hit the headlines in 2003 on claims that soft drinks like Pepsi and Coke have high pesticide content, has now targeted the vanaspati industry for high trans fat levels.

Narain-led Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has conducted a study on major vanaspati brands like Dalda, Rath, Raag and Gagan and found high levels of dangerous trans fats in all these samples. Some of these brands are manufactured by multinationals like Cargill and Bunge.

“There is an increasing concern on trans fat across the world. We studied the extent of trans fat in leading brands following international methodologies and found high content of trans fats in all vanaspati brands,” Narain said at a press conference here. The tests found that in all vanaspati brands, trans fat levels were five to 12 times higher than the world’s only standard for trans fats in oil, set in Denmark, at 2 per cent.

“Adani Wilmar is fully committed to provide quality products to our consumers. We are not aware whether the samples tested by CSE pertains to us. Vanasapati is produced by hydrogenation process and it is a well-known fact that trans fatty acids are formed during this process. The Indian food law do not prescribe any limits for such fats,” said K Varshney, spokesperson, Adani Wilmar.

Despite tall claims by companies, the stark truth is that one can never be sure if the oil selling in the market is healthy enough. “In fact, the oil that you eat believing it to be the best for your health, could be swimming with trans fats, which could lead to heart diseases and cancer,” said a CSE release.

CSE researchers have found that while government food regulators accept that trans fats can be a serious health concern, they are delaying setting the standard, presumably under pressure from the edible oil industry.