14 DAY TRIAL // Canadian government department Health Canada has officially added artificial trans fats, also known as trans-unsaturated fatty acids or trans fatty acids to its "List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances," according to a CBC News report.
The decision taken by the department responsible for national public health in Canada comes as a consequence of legislation that received the support of a vast majority of Canadian MPs 15 years ago.
Trans fats are a class of unsaturated fats produced on an industrial scale since the 1950s and known to have the effect of raising the levels of low-density or bad lipoprotein cholesterol, while at the same time decreasing the quantity of high density or bad lipoprotein cholesterol.
Health Canada took the final steps to ban the trans fats during September 2017, when it decided to remove partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), the primary source of artificial trans fats in restaurant and industrially produced food.
“Eliminating the main source of industrially produced trans fat from the food supply is a major accomplishment and a strong new measure that will help to protect the health of Canadians,” said Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor a year ago in a statement.
The ban follows a set of phasing out targets voluntarily imposed by the food industry
The main issue behind the artificial trans fats ban in Canada is the damage they cause to the cardiovascular system, with some medical studies showing that it can clog arteries and blood vessels.
Although the ban came into effect today, most companies operating in the food industry have gradually and voluntarily phased out partially hydrogenated oils from their products.
The Canadian government took some measures before the ban took effect, with a program designed to monitor the progress of the food industry towards meeting the targets they imposed voluntarily.
Health Canada's artificial trans fats ban applies to all food produced and packaged in Canada, and to foods prepared and served in restaurants, also including all imported products.
Artificial trans fats are also banned in the USA, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announcing they are unsafe in 2015 and allowing the food industry to follow suit and remove them from their products until June 18, 2018.