KUWAIT CITY, Jan 12: The Public Authority for Food and Nutrition (PAFN) announced the implementation on the regulation on hydrogenated fats in Kuwait starting early May, to improve public health and reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases, such as heart disease, obesity, and diabetes, linked to excessive consumption of hydrogenated fats. The Deputy Director General for Community Nutrition Affairs at PAFN Dr. Shaima Al-Asfour highlighted during a press conference held Sunday that this regulation is not new globally, as it has been in effect since 2017 in European countries and is already implemented in some neighboring countries. She affirmed its importance in enhancing compliance with international health standards for protecting both citizens and residents and eliminating industrial trans fatty acids.

Dr. Al-Asfour said she anticipates the regulation will lead to a decrease in the rates of heart disease, obesity, and diabetes, and ensure improved quality of life for individuals and a reduced financial burden on the health system. She affirmed PAFN’s commitment to enforcing the regulation, stating that hydrogenated fats are unsuitable for human consumption. Dr. Al-Asfour highlighted the need to prevent the entry of any imported products that contain hydrogenated fats into the Kuwaiti market, as well as the need for thorough testing of all imported food items. She also highlighted the necessity of educating the public on how to select foods and read food labels. Dr. Al-Asfour indicated that PAFN inspectors will carefully audit imported products to ensure that no goods containing hydrogenated oils are allowed entry into Kuwait, adding that this will be enforced through laboratory testing of product samples. She stressed the keenness of PAFN to earn international recognition for Kuwait as a country free from trans or hydrogenated fats.

Dr. Al-Asfour explained that food products must be entirely free of partially hydrogenated oils. If a product contains fully hydrogenated oils and is intended for final consumption or retail sale, the trans fat content must be less than two percent of the total fats in the product. If the product contains natural trans fats, the trans fat content should not exceed eight percent of the total fat in the food product, unless otherwise specified in the product’s specifications. If the product contains refined oils, the trans fat content must be less than two percent of the total fat in the food product intended for consumer sale, by technical regulation 2106 GSO, which pertains to infant milk, follow-up milk, and milk intended for medical use. The trans fat content in milk fat must not exceed three percent of the total fat in infant milk products, follow- up milk, and milk intended for special medical use.

Meanwhile, Dr. Al-Asfour stressed that hydrogenated fats are a type of unsaturated fat produced industrially by adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to turn them into a solid or semi-solid state at room temperature. She highlighted that one of the main advantages of hydrogenated fats is their ability to increase the shelf life of products. In the same context, Deputy Director General for Control and Inspection Affairs at PAFN Dr. Saud Al-Jalal affirmed that penalties for non-compliance with the regulations include fines, removal of non-compliant products from the market, and suspension of the activities of violating companies, under the applicable regulations. He explained that penalties for violations range from KD 500 to KD 1,000, in addition to referral to the Public Prosecution. Violations that cannot be settled will be forwarded to the Public Prosecution, which will determine whether to close the facility or imprison its owner. During the grace period granted to companies, which ends on May 1, inspection tours will be carried out in all central markets, restaurants, and companies in all governorates.