Upang maprotektahan ang kapakanan at kalusugan ng mga Pilipino, inihain kamakailan ni Laguna First District Representative Ann Matibag ang isang batas na naglalayong alisin ang mga industrially-produced trans fatty acids mula sa mga processed foods.
Ang Anti-Trans Fat Bill o House Bill 1485 ay isa sa mga batas na inihain ni Matibag kung saan nakalusot na sa First Reading ng Kamara.
“Based on scientific studies, trans fatty acids are very unhealthy and dangerous to human health,” Matibag explains. “It’s about time to prohibit the manufacture, importation, and distribution, and sale of food products containing these substances,” sabi ni Matibag.
Dagdag pa ng mambabatas, ang kanyang inihaing batas ay isa sa mga prayoridad niya bilang isang “champion of nutrition” lalo na para sa mga ina at mga kabataan.
“Team Matibag is also planning to roll out more bills on nutrition and food security as work under the 19th Congress is underway,” sabi ni Matibag. “A healthy living is what our country needs especially during these times.”
Paliwanag ni Matibag, maging ang World Health Organization (WHO) ay nagsasabing dapat nang bawasan kung hindi man maiwasan ang mga trans fat dahil isa umano ito sa nagdudulot ng cardiovascular disease sa buong mundo.
“If the World Health Organization recommends its elimination, why don’t we implement the same thing also here in our country as one of the simplest public health interventions to reduce the risk of suffering diseases related to unhealthy diets like cardiovascular diseases,” saad ng mambabatas.
“It doesn’t provide any nutritional benefits. It only increases the levels of harmful cholesterol while decreasing the levels of good cholesterol,” dagdag niya.
Sinabi pa ni Matibag na ang mga food manufacturers ay gumagamit ng hydrogenated oils na siyang naglalabas ng fatty acids sa mga “hardened vegetable fats” at ang batas na kanyang inihain ay naglalayong pagbawalan ang paggamit ng hydrogenated oils at iba pang oils at fats na may trans fatty acid content na two grams bawat 100 grams.