Evidence brief for policy. Number 7: Reducing the consumption of trans-fats and their negative impacts on health in Turkey (2021)

Trans-fatty acids (TFAs), or trans-fats, are an important public health problem that has many negative consequences for human health and requires multi-stakeholder health policy interventions for its solution.

TÜSEB Turkish Institute for Health Policies, the Ministry of Health of Turkey and the WHO Country Office in Turkey came together to develop this evidence brief for policy, to be published under the aegis of the WHO European Evidence-informed Policy Network, to provide evidence-informed options for policy-makers to tackle the problem of reducing the consumption of TFAs in Turkey. The work was carried out within the framework of the collaboration between TÜSEB Turkish Institute for Health Policies and WHO; it involved the Ministry of Health of Turkey, high-level national policy institutions and national experts, and was supported by technical experts from the WHO Regional Office for Europe.

TÜSEB Turkish Institute for Health Policies convened a working group comprising representatives from the clinical field, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The group identified, selected, appraised and synthesized relevant research evidence on the problem; devised three options for tackling it; and weighed up considerations in implementing each option. The three options are:

1. Establishing mandatory limits on TFAs;
2. Labelling TFA-free foods and raising awareness of the health effects associated with TFAs; and
3. Introducing incentives to replace industrially produced TFAs with healthier oils and fats.