Turkey limits amount of industrially produced trans fats in foods
WHO
Turkey recently announced regulations limiting the amount of industrially produced trans fats allowed in foods. As per WHO recommendations, the regulation requires that foods intended for the final consumer and for supply to retail contain no more than 2g of trans fats per 100g of fat. These measures are an important step towards the elimination of trans fats from the food supply, which will save thousands of lives per year.
Industrially produced trans fats are an unnecessary and potentially harmful chemical often found in baked goods and deep-fried foods in places without policies to restrict them, and are associated with increased risk of heart disease. WHO and its Member States have set the goal of eliminating industrially produced trans fats from the food supply by 2023.
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular disease (CVD), are the leading cause of death in the WHO European Region. Diets high in trans fats increase the risk of heart disease by 21% and the risk of premature death by 28%. In Turkey, NCDs are responsible for 87.5% of all deaths, of which 36.6% are due to CVD. Elimination of industrially produced trans fats from the global food supply is thus considered a life-saving public health intervention.
A global first – a Region free of trans fats
As Turkey implements this best practice trans fats policy, it joins member states of the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as other countries in the Region, in taking measures towards being trans-fat free. This moves the WHO European Region closer to being the first WHO region in the world to become trans-fat free.
Although many countries in the Region have already taken strong action to eliminate trans fats, more needs to be done. WHO is actively working toward this goal. In Turkey, WHO has provided technical support to the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Health and Food Policies Council of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey in the process of developing and implementing this regulation. The role of civil society in advocating for this regulation, mainly through a large mass media campaign, was instrumental in reaching this stage.
“To prevent premature deaths, Turkey has shown great political commitment, by taking a mandatory approach to the elimination of industrially produced trans fats from the food supply. This will reduce exposure to artificial trans fats and increase the availability of healthier alternatives to reduce the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease,” commented Dr Toker Ergüder, National Professional Officer for Noncommunicable Diseases and Promoting Health through the Life-Course, at the WHO Country Office in Turkey.
REPLACE action package
To support its Member States in eliminating trans fats from the global supply, WHO calls on governments to use the REPLACE action package, which includes 6 strategic actions:
- 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 fat 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 policy-makers, producers, suppliers and the public.
- Enforce compliance with policies and regulations.
The REPLACE action package will bring Member States closer to winning the global fight against CVD.
