Health officials are exploring an outright ban on trans fatty acids in restaurants and new restrictions on the importing of trans-fat products into the island.

The issue is being looked at after 2023 food surveys conducted by the Department of Health detected trans fatty acids considered to be harmful in some foods at retail levels.

Officials said a further survey of ingredients used in food manufacturing and catering was not conducted but that work was being planned.

Special equipment has been ordered so that local testing can be expanded.

The Department of Health has not yet imposed trans fat protocols for Bermuda’s restaurants but has pointed out action being taken in other jurisdictions.

The New York City Health Code amendment regulated the 2007-2008 phasing out of the use of artificial trans fat in all food-service establishments required to hold a New York City Health Department permit, including restaurants, caterers, mobile food-vending units and mobile food commissaries.

A Bermuda Government spokeswoman said this week that the Department of Health had been clearing the path and building capacity to perform local testing and working with advisers at the Pan American Health Organisation and the UK Health Security Agency.

There are no trans fat restrictions or requirements when health inspectors attend at restaurants but they do inquire about them during inspections.

The spokeswoman said: “Yes, they can examine labelling but Bermuda still does not have testing capacity on the island. Equipment has been ordered so that local testing can be expanded. It should be noted that some products may be falsely labelled.”

She said that bans were under serious consideration. “The Public Health Act has provisions that can be adapted for controlling ingredients, and constituents of additives in food that are deleterious to health,” she noted.

“Trans fats are bad for the body because research has proven the direct connection of trans fatty acids with cardiovascular diseases, among other health conditions.

“Trans fats are an unhealthy type of fat found in some foods that can contribute to high LDL (bad) cholesterol and low HDL (good) cholesterol. Eating too many trans fats may increase your risk of developing heart disease.”

In response to questions from The Royal Gazette, the spokeswoman said: “If legal controls of trans fats are adopted as policy, [meetings with] various stakeholders internal and external will be convened in order to familiarise everyone with the matter and their role in reducing the risks of trans fats in the food chain in Bermuda.

“Education and consultation will precede any legislative change but Bermuda has been warned to look out for ‘dumping’ of trans fat-containing foods by unscrupulous suppliers as worldwide controls are introduced and implemented.

“The [World Health Organisation] campaign REPLACE aims to eliminate the use of industrially produced trans fats in food by 2025.

“Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of mortality in the world. Major risk factors are unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, and tobacco and alcohol use.

“Among other dietary factors, high intake of trans fat increases the risk of death from any cause by 34 per cent, coronary heart disease deaths by 28 per cent, and coronary heart disease by 21 per cent.”

Global health officials have identified partially hydrogenated oils as the primary dietary source of artificial trans fat in processed foods. Removing PHOs from processed foods could prevent thousands of heart attacks and deaths each year, they said. Trans fat has no known health benefits.

There are naturally occurring trans fats but it is the man-made ones, iTFAs, that are added to food to increase shelf life. These are the target for elimination by WHO’s REPLACE campaign, established in 2018.