The elimination of industrially-produced trans fat from the global food supply is a WHO priority and a target in the 13th General Programme of Work (GPW), which will guide the WHO through 2023.
As part of WHO’s efforts to provide support to governments to eliminate industrially-produced trans fat from their nation’s food supply, and replace these harmful compounds with healthier fats and oils, the REPLACE action package was developed and launched in May 2018.
REPLACE provides six strategic actions to ensure the prompt, complete, and sustained elimination of industrially-produced trans fats from the food supply:
Review dietary sources of industrially-produced trans fats and the landscape for required policy change.
Promote the replacement of industrially-produced trans fats with healthier fats and oils.
Legislate or enact regulatory actions to eliminate industrially-produced trans fats.
Assess and monitor trans fats content in the food supply and changes in trans fat consumption in the population.
Create awareness of the negative health impact of trans fats among policymakers, producers, suppliers, and the public.
Enforce compliance of policies and regulations.
To meet this target, WHO calls not only on governments’ commitment but also on the industry to commit an act to replace industrially-produced trans fat with healthier fats and oils.
There are 130 million babies born around the world each year. With industry’s commitment and cooperation, none of them will ever have to be exposed to the dangers of industrially-produced trans fat by 2023.
Eliminating trans fats is key to protecting health and saving lives: WHO estimates that every year, trans fat intake leads to more than 500,000 deaths of people from cardiovascular disease.
Industrially-produced trans fats are contained in hardened vegetable fats, such as margarine and ghee, and are often present in snack food, baked foods, and fried foods.
