WHO calls for tougher action on trans fats in food

Nearly half the world’s population has benefited from strict regulations limiting trans fats in food, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on January 29. The WHO called on countries that have not yet implemented the effort to follow suit.

In 2018, the WHO called for the elimination of trans fats in industrially produced foods worldwide by 2023, citing mounting evidence that they were responsible for 500,000 premature deaths each year. This target was not met and was pushed back to 2025.

However, to date only 53 countries, representing 46% of the world's population, are implementing optimal policies to limit this harmful fat, up from 11 countries and 6% in 2018. WHO estimates that about 183,000 lives are saved each year thanks to these policies.

“Trans fats have no health benefits and pose significant health risks. We are pleased that so many countries have introduced policies to ban or restrict trans fats in food,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement, calling on other countries to join in and increase dialogue with the food industry.

According to medical studies, trans fats clog the arteries around the heart. This substance is often used in packaged foods, baked goods, cooking oils, margarine... Food manufacturers often use trans fats because they have a longer shelf life and are cheaper than some other alternatives.

According to the WHO, the way to eliminate trans fats is for countries to have mandatory nationwide limits or even outright bans, as Denmark does. Denmark's ambassador to the United Nations, Ib Petersen, said that policies implemented in Denmark have reduced coronary heart disease in the country by 11%.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. An estimated 17.9 million people died from such diseases in 2019, with 85% of those deaths due to heart attacks and strokes. Eliminating trans fats is seen as an easy way to reduce these deaths, according to health experts.

“Eliminating trans fats is economically feasible and life-saving because it costs virtually nothing to governments or consumers,” said Tom Frieden, president of the nonprofit Resolve to Save Lives, which partners with WHO on trans fats. “This harmful compound is unnecessary and no one will miss it when it’s gone.”

Minh Hoa (reported by Vietnam+, Women of Ho Chi Minh City)

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