WHO 5-year milestone report on global trans fat elimination 2023 | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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WHO 5-year milestone report on global trans fat elimination 2023

Posted 26 Jun 2024

2 min read

WHO has published a new milestone report which summarizes progress over past 5 years towards global elimination of industrially produced trans-fatty acids (TFA), highlighting impacts on public health.

About TFA

  • These are unsaturated fatty acids that come from either industrial or natural sources.
  • Industrial trans-fats are made by adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid, and to increase shelf-life of foods.
  • It can also be found naturally in meat and dairy foods from ruminant animals (e.g. cows, sheep, goats).
  • WHO’s recommendation for adults is to limit consumption of trans fat to less than 1% of total energy intake.

Key Highlights of the report

  • By late 2023, WHO's best-practice policies for trans-fat elimination were implemented in 53 nations, covering around 46% of the global population.
  • In India, ~4.63% of Coronary Heart Disease deaths are attributable to TFA intake.

Key Recommendations

  • Sub-regional bodies must pass mandatory TFA elimination policies that are directly binding on member states as they can facilitate trade and policy implementation.
  • Beyond compliance with national policies, food manufacturers to voluntarily eliminate industrially produced TFA across their product portfolios.

Initiatives for Elimination of TFA

Global

  • WHO’s REPLACE action package: Provides a strategic approach to eliminate industrially-produced TFA from national food supplies.
  • WHO Validation Programme for Trans Fat Elimination: To drive policy progress and recognize country achievement in elimination of TFA.

National

  • Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Second Amendment Regulations, 2021: Limited industrial TFA to not more than 3% in all fats and oils by January 2021 and not more than 2% by January 2022.
  • ‘Trans-Fat Free’ Logo: Launched by FSSAI as part of Eat Right India Movement.
  • Tags :
  • FSSAI
  • WHO
  • Trans-Fatty Acids
  • REPLACE Action Package
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