“Buboy” loved junk food. He would eat French fries at breakfast, cookies for mid-morning snack, hamburger at lunch, spaghetti at mid-afternoon and, finally, fried chicken at dinner—and, always, with his favorite soda—since he was 2. At 12, he was dead.
Buboy is one reason Rep. Magtanggol T. Gunigundo I (2nd District, Valenzuela City) wants to criminalize the use of artificial trans fat in food preparation and manufacture.
“The use of trans fat in food production and preparation has become a world menace,” he said. “Its phase-out should be immediate and must not be put off.” Experts claim excessive intake of trans fat by more than 0.5 per cent every day is fatal. It causes heart ailments and diabetes in adults and juveniles, and obesity and hypertension. Fast-food meals containing trans fat include French fries, fried chicken, cookies, popcorn, processed junk food and pastries.
According to House Bill 218, Gunigundo filed for the 15th Congress, artificial trans fat refers to an unsaturated or fatty acid that is produced by the partial hydrogenation of plant oils which contain one or more instances of atoms bonded in a trans configuration.
Under Section 4 entitled Unlawful Act, it states that it shall be unlawful for Food Service Facilities (FSFs)/Food Service Establishments (FSEs) and manufacturers to use trans fat in the preparation of food for storage, distribution or sale. It also mandates food facilities or establishments to maintain on site the original labels for all food products or documents instead of label and for them to submit the document for foods that are not labeled.
Penalties are high—indicating the seriousness of the problem. The first offense incurs a fine of not more than P300,000 or imprisonment of not more than one year, or both; second offense, a P400,000 fine or imprisonment of not more than two years, or both; and, third offense: in addition to a fine of not more than P500,000 or imprisonment of not more than three years, or both, the business permits and licenses in case of a business entity or establishment shall be revoked or cancelled. If the violator is a business entity or establishment, the owner, president, manager or the most senior officers shall be liable. If the guilty party is an alien, he/she shall be deported after serving the sentence and forever barred from re-entering the Philippines.
Gunigundo says it’s not hard to shift to alternative ingredients available in the market. “Trans fat can be substituted without sacrificing taste or increasing production costs. Some food providers and food chains have started the campaign, “but we need to institutionalize it so other food providers and food chains would follow suit.”
