Trans fat bill: Canada resists the lipid lobby

By Owen Dyer

When federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh announced on November 18 that Health Canada would "work through a multi-stakeholder task force to develop recommendations and strategies for reducing trans fats in Canadian foods to the lowest levels possible," observers might have been forgiven if they smiled knowingly and set their alarm clocks for some time in 2014.

What a pleasant surprise then, when just five days later, Liberal and NDP MPs united to pass a bill guaranteeing legislative action on artificial trans fatty acids within a year. This makes Canada only the second country, after Denmark, in the world to legislate against trans fat. Resistance to the ban was tepid; some 73 Tory MPs tried to play the role of party-pooper, but were drowned out by the 193 yeas.

The moment of cross-party cooperation ended soon enough as the Liberals and NDP both scrambled to claim credit. On balance, the laurels must go to MP Pat Martin and his fellow New Democrats who've long been clamouring for this bill. Health Canada's November 18 announcement was undoubtedly an attempt to pre-emptively steal the NDP's thunder, but the fact remains that the Liberal government has shown a commendable resistance to the siren song of industry lobbyists. It's noteworthy that every government minister in Parliament supported Pat Martin's bill.

Some public health measures are easier to take than others, of course. Trans fatty acids don't really make foods tastier so consumers are unlikely to miss them. The food industry will have to regroup because trans fats help lengthen shelf life, but for most supermarket products, ready alternatives exist for a few extra cents.

The story of trans fatty acids is an object lesson in the pointlessness of asking industry to regulate itself. Two years ago, under pressure from consumer health groups, McDonald's promised to eliminate trans fats from its recipes. They have yet to do so. When the

US-based Center for Science in the Public Interest ran a full-page ad in the New York Times two months ago criticizing the company, McDonalds responded in a statement: "The fact that a company like McDonald's was unable to follow through on a publicly stated commitment... speaks to the complexity and challenges facing the... industry in obtaining an adequate replacement for trans fats."

Fortunately, our Parliament has decided not to see it that way. Bill C-220 is shorter than this article and admirably straightforward. It rests on the simple premise that, yes, sacrifices will have to be made, profits may fall, and maybe some people will get laid off, but the government has a duty to prevent its citizens from being poisoned.

There is one real complicating factor for the fast-food industry. Fats that are kept in deep fryers and re-used for several days gradually accumulate more and more trans fats, up to a shocking 30%. Even the healthiest oil, if reheated often enough, will deteriorate. Enforcing a 2% limit in this industry could be tough, even requiring inspectors. But restaurants already have to cope with hygiene inspectors, and hardly anyone in Canada dies of food poisoning, while heart disease and stroke kill 79,000 a year.

Canadian consumption of trans fats is among the highest in the world. Health Canada statistics indicate that people in the 15-25 age group consume an average 38g a day. The World Health Organization suggests limiting trans fats to less than 3g a day. The US National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine says the only safe level is zero. Almost all studies suggest that trans fats are far worse than saturated fats. Canada will require trans fats to be listed among food ingredients beginning in December 2005; the US will follow suit in January 2006.

When Denmark put a 2% limit on trans fats last year, their health minister said, "We will always put the health of our citizens before the concerns of industry." What a delightfully simple outlook. Canada must choose between this social model and that exemplified by US Health Secretary Tommy Thompson and his contrasting approach on a different public health issue — that of sugar. In a country where obesity is a top killer, the US Health Department has chosen to back industry's absurd claims that processed sugar can form up to 25% of a healthy diet. We can be profoundly grateful that Health Canada is not so easily bought off.

 

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