Eliminating the Deadly Scourge: A Global Push to Ban Industrially Produced Trans Fat

Cookies, pizza, and cake may be delectable, but they can also pose a grave threat to our health. Beyond their often high sugar, salt, or fat content, these foods can harbor a toxic ingredient that claims nearly 300,000 lives from coronary heart disease each year: industrially produced trans fat.

Eradicating a Silent Killer: The Urgent Need to Eliminate Artificial Trans Fat

The Hazardous History of Industrially Produced Trans Fat

Invented in the early 20th century as a substitute for butter and later used to extend the shelf life of processed foods, industrially produced trans fat has proven to be a highly hazardous substance. There is no safe level of consumption, and its elimination is crucial for safeguarding public health. Fortunately, this toxic food additive can be easily replaced with healthier alternatives without compromising taste or manufacturing costs, potentially saving hundreds of thousands of lives each year.

A Global Call to Action: WHO's Push for Trans Fat Elimination

Six years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a clarion call to countries and the food industry to eliminate industrially produced trans fat from the global food supply. At that time, only a small fraction of the world's population – less than one in ten people – were protected from this toxic chemical.

Remarkable Progress, but Unfinished Business

A recent WHO report on the state of global trans fat elimination paints a picture of tremendous progress made in just a few short years. Today, 53 countries with nearly four billion people have implemented WHO-recommended best practice policies, including bans or limits on trans fat, effectively removing this major health risk for almost half of the world's population.WHO has recognized five countries – Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand – for their pioneering efforts to become trans fat-free, going beyond the adoption of best-practice policies to include robust monitoring and enforcement frameworks that will maximize and sustain the health benefits of these measures.However, the fight is far from over. More than four billion people remain unprotected from this toxic chemical, with the majority of the remaining deaths caused by trans fat concentrated in just eight countries, primarily in Africa and the Asia Pacific region. Implementing best practice policies in these additional countries could prevent 90 percent of the global deaths associated with this harmful ingredient – a crucial milestone in the battle against noncommunicable diseases.

Combating the Threat of Trans Fat Dumping

As trans fat restrictions increase worldwide, there is a growing concern that food manufacturers may attempt to dump products containing this toxic chemical into markets without regulations. This underscores the urgent need for all countries, regardless of their income level, to protect their citizens by implementing robust regulations, even if trans fat levels in their food supply are currently low.

A Cost-Effective Solution with Proven Results

Studies from Argentina, Kenya, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union have demonstrated that industrially produced trans fats can be eliminated and replaced with healthier fats or oils without changing the cost, taste, or availability of food. This makes trans fat elimination a highly cost-effective means of tackling noncommunicable diseases and saving lives.

A Call to Action: Governments, Industry, and Advocates Unite

Countries that have implemented best practice trans fat policies can support others in doing the same by sharing their experience and expertise. Food manufacturers, especially national and global conglomerates that have long profited from products containing deadly trans fat, have a responsibility to consumers to invest in healthier replacements.Advocates in the global community must continue to push for the total elimination of trans fat through the introduction of WHO-recommended best-practice policies. Three priority actions are needed to achieve a trans fat-free world:1. All governments must limit or ban trans fat in all foods, in line with WHO-recommended policy, including a national limit of 2 grams of industrially produced trans fat per 100 grams of total fat in all foods, and a mandatory national ban on the production or use of partially hydrogenated oils as an ingredient.2. Governments must ensure that limits and bans are monitored and enforced. To encourage and strengthen enforcement, WHO has created the Trans Fat Free Validation Programme to formally recognize countries' efforts to eliminate trans fat, similar to how WHO validates countries for eliminating malaria or neglected tropical diseases.3. The food industry must implement WHO recommendations, ensuring that when trans fat is removed, it is replaced with healthier fats and oils, and that fats linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, such as saturated fat, are minimized. Companies should also agree to not sell products containing trans fat in markets where no policies yet exist.The push for the global elimination of industrially produced artificial trans fat marks a historic milestone in the fight against noncommunicable diseases. We know what to do, we know how to do it, and we know it works. The world is making good progress, but it's time for country leaders to finish the job of protecting their people from this toxic food additive.