REPLACE trans fat: policies to eliminate industrially produced trans fat

Overview

REPLACE, the WHO Action Package and guide to global elimination of trans fat, provides a six step action package including enacting regulations to strictly limit the amount of industrially produced trans fat in foods, fats and oils. Denmark was the first country to do this, passing a law in 2003 limiting industrially produced trans fat content in all foods to 2% of fats and oils. Denmark’s law has become a template for other countries. Canada, Thailand, and the US have implemented regulations that ban partially hydrogenated oils, the source of industrially produced trans fat.

By the end of 2019, 28 countries will have implemented mandatory trans fat limits or bans on partially hydrogenated oils. An additional 24 countries have enacted mandatory trans fat limits that will come into effect over the next two years. The strength and enforcement of the regulations varies across countries, but many have led to large reductions in consumption. Most policies to date, however, have been implemented in high-income countries. Rising rates of heart disease in low- and middle-income countries underscore the need to expand elimination strategies globally.

Other, less effective policy options include mandatory labelling of trans fat content in packaged foods, coordinated voluntary reformulations of products, and bans on the sale of food containing industrially produced trans fat in certain settings (such as schools or hospitals).