As of 2023, a total of 53 countries had best practice policies in place for tackling industrial trans fat in food, protecting 3.7 billion people (46% of the world's population); however more than 4 billion people remain unprotected from this toxic chemical globally.
WHO's 2024 five-year milestone report confirms ongoing global action to eliminate industrially produced trans fat, with 53 countries adopting best-practice policies by 2023 while over 4 billion people remain unprotected.
WHO today released REPLACE, a step-by-step guide for the elimination of industrially-produced trans-fatty acids from the global food supply. Every year, trans fat intake leads to more than 500,000 deaths of people from cardiovascular disease.
WHO launched the REPLACE action package (2018) calling for complete elimination of industrially produced trans fat from the global food supply, attributing more than 500,000 cardiovascular deaths per year to trans fat intake.
There is no longer a consensus among qualified experts that partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), which are the primary dietary source of industrially-produced trans fatty acids (IP-TFA), are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for any use in human food. Affected parties must comply no later than June 18, 2018.
FDA made a final determination that PHOs (the main source of artificial trans fat) are not GRAS for any use in human food, regulating them as food additives requiring premarket approval; primary compliance date June 18, 2018.