This is a significant advance compared to the Figure in 2018 of only six percentor less than 500 million people, when the WHO initially set the ambitious goal of eliminating all trans fats from the global food supply by the end of 2023.
“Eliminating trans fats is achievable, affordable and saves livesand WHO remains committed to supporting Member States on their path towards this goal,” said Dr Francesco Branca, Director of the WHO Department of Nutrition and Food Safety.
Trans fats, or trans fatty acids, clog arteries, increasing the risk of heart attack and death. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of mortality in the world and more than 278,000 deaths a year can be attributed to the intake of industrially produced trans fats, according to the health agency.
Given its negative health effects, Current advances could save approximately 183,000 lives a year.. However, progress has been uneven, with the largest remaining burden concentrated in WHO's Africa and Western Pacific regions. The new report summarizes countries' actions to ban this toxic chemical and makes recommendations to achieve global elimination of trans fats.
Better practices
Remarkable progress has been made in all regions of the world towards the WHO goal of completely eliminating industrially produced trans fats. The chemicals are fatty acids that can be found in many fried foods, baked goods, shortening, and margarine.
In 2023 alone, new best practice policies came into force in seven countries: Egypt, Mexico, Nigeria, North Macedonia, the Philippines, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.
In January 2024, the WHO awarded five countries the Certificate of Validation for progress in eliminating industrially produced trans fats: Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Thailand.
However, despite promising trends, progress has been uneven. More than four billion people around the world remain unprotected from this toxic chemical, mainly in the WHO Africa and Western Pacific regions.
Implementing best practice policies in just eight additional countries would eliminate 90 percent of global deaths associated with this harmful ingredient.
“Beyond endorsing the best practice policies on trans fats recommended by the WHO, Ensuring that compliance with these policies is monitored and enforced will be critical. to achieve maximized and sustained health benefits from the elimination of trans fats,” added Dr. Branca.
New commitments from WHO
The new WHO report helps advance the organization's efforts toward the global elimination of trans fats. The report urges all countries to implement best practice policies and to better monitor and enforce these policies so that more countries can be eligible for the WHO Validation Certificate.
The WHO is also calling on food manufacturers to eliminate the use of trans fats in product lines and supply chains, even where regulations do not yet exist.
