Health ministry moves to regulate fast foods 

The Health ministry is working on a policy to regulate the importation of processed foods, a move aimed at curbing deaths brought about by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that have become rampant lately.

Dr James Ocakacon, a senior medical officer in the Department of NCDs Prevention and Control, said because of change of lifestyle driven by industrialisation, many people are now resorting to eating fast and processed foods, which are a main cause of the non-communicable diseases that have led to the death of many.

“The country is getting industrialised and getting more processed foods on the market, most of these are from other countries and locally, there are industries beginning to produce them and we don’t have any regulations,” Dr Ocakacon said last week during an engagement with MPs.

He added: “So learning from other countries, and with support from the World Health Organisation, the division of nutrition at the ministry is working on two things, one is how we regulate these foods. There are countries doing that by regulating different quantities of salt, fat, and added sugars in manufactured foods.”

No communicable diseases, which include diabetes, hypertension and cancer, are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioural factors.

Dr Ocakacon further explained that the policy is aimed at empowering the buyers to purchase the foods that are clearly labelled with the amounts of the nutrients therein.

“We want it to be upon the industry to indicate that this food is high on this nutrient such that when you are picking the product, you pick when informed. This is targeted to ensure that the manufacturers don’t put in excess of these nutrients,” he said.
Reacting to the policy proposal, Ms Noor Musisi, the deputy executive director of Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (Cehurd), said the government should instead ensure that citizens eat their locally produced foods that are organic and safe.
“…as a country, we have very good organic food that our population can eat. So there is no reason why we should import processed foods. We should also restrict marketing. It’s a good move but we need to rethink it,” Ms Musisi said.

Background
According to the Health ministry, NCDs and injuries have doubled in the last two decades, now contributing to 40 percent of the deaths in the country. This has been attributed to sedentary lifestyles and eating lots of fast foods.