Dr Siow Lee Fong, an associate professor at a private university here, said it was better for food containing trans fat to be removed from the market instead of leaving it to consumers to decide what was best for them.

“It’s difficult for the low-income group to make good food choices. They tend to choose the cheapest food that may contain trans fat,” she told FMT.

A major source of trans fat is partially hydrogenated oil (PHO), which is used in many frying oils, fried and baked food, and hardened fats such as margarine and vegetable ghee.

Statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) have shown that trans fat is linked to half a million heart disease-related deaths globally.

The WHO proposes a 2g limit of industrially produced trans fat per 100 grams of total fat in all food, or a ban altogether on the use of PHO, something neighbouring Singapore has done.

Denmark was the first country to eliminate trans fat in 2004, and studies have indicated a decrease in deaths from heart disease ever since.

Siow said food-industry producers should consider using other methods of processing oil that do not create trans fat.

Currently, there is no law in Malaysia to compel producers to label food containing trans fats. However, trans-fat content must be declared if labels contain certain claims about fatty acids.

Nutrition Society of Malaysia president Dr Tee E Siong chimed in, saying the amount of trans fat in food should be reduced to a minimal level or even zero.

“The way to approach this is to restrict the use of PHO,” he told FMT.

Tee advised consumers to read the labels of processed food and not purchase items that contain PHO.

“There is no shortcut to nutrition; people must be mindful of choosing healthy meals,” he added.