Universities to eliminate less healthy food

Remember Deketeke Herald Reporter

Two Zimbabwean universities have joined hands in an effort to eliminate trans-fatty acids, which can clog arteries and cause heart attacks, within Africa.

The collaborative effort is between the Harare Institute of Technology (HIT), the principal investigator, and Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT), the co-principal investigator.

The primary objective of the conversation was to generate possible policy suggestions and solutions, with innovation hubs being at the forefront of fighting these ills.

Speaking at the inception workshop in Harare for trans-fatty acids elimination in Africa, CUT Pro Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs and Administration Professor Ivin Mpofu said higher institutions must collaborate in eliminating this significant health problem Zimbabwe is currently facing.

“So, what is important is to have higher learning institutions, collaborating and coming up with solutions, either from a policy point of view, regulatory point of view, technological point of view, in helping the country in dealing with non-communicable diseases, emanating from some of the things that we find in our food, like the trans-fatty acids,” he said.

“One can actually see the impact of education, the policy of the Government, and institutions of higher learning.

“They are tackling need-driven research areas, in collaborating and in interacting with industry and interacting with civil society in eliminating trans-fatty acid within industries.”

Senior Lecturer at HIT Dr Melody Ndemera said university facilities and innovation hubs need more funding and capacity building to fully operationalise.

“We discover that the infrastructure we have to keep an eye on, analyse, and test for these transfers is a little bit limited, which makes it difficult for us to pinpoint the precise amount of food-borne illness that occurs in Zimbabwe,” she said.

“And even if we would import foods from outside the country, we would not be in a position to ascertain the levels of trans-fatty acids.

“So, we would really appreciate our capacity with respect to increased infrastructure in our labs to be able to detect and analyse,” she said.