Trans fat regulation

Activists, such as Phil Sokolof, who took out full page ads in major newspapers, attacked the use of beef tallow in McDonald's french fries and urged fast-food companies to switch to vegetable oils.

[citation needed] Studies in the early 1990s, however, brought renewed scrutiny and confirmation of the negative health impact of trans fats.

[citation needed] In 2018 the World Health Organization launched a plan to eliminate trans fat from the global food supply.

[9] Starting on 10 December 2014, Argentina has on effect a total ban on food with trans fat, a regulation that could save the government more than US$100 million a year on healthcare.

The former federal assistant health minister, Christopher Pyne, asked fast food outlets to reduce their trans fat use.

[13] The Conseil Supérieur de la Santé published in 2012 a science-policy advisory report on industrially produced trans fatty acids that focuses on the general population.

[14] Resolution 360 of 23 December 2003 by the Brazilian ministry of health required for the first time in the country that the amount of trans fat to be specified in labels of food products.

In 2019 Anvisa published a new legislation to reduce the total amount of trans fat in any industrialized food sold in Brazil to a maximum of 2% by the end of 2023.

[15] In a process that began in 2004, Health Canada finally banned partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), the primary source of industrially produced trans fats in foods, in September 2018.

This regulatory approach thus made Denmark the first country in which it was possible to eat "far less" than 1 g of industrially produced trans fats daily, even with a diet including processed foods.

[21] In 2004, the European Food Safety Authority produced a scientific opinion on trans fatty acids, surmising that "higher intakes of TFA may increase risk for coronary heart disease".

[43][44] On 15 April 2010, a British Medical Journal editorial called for trans fats to be "virtually eliminated in the United Kingdom by next year".

[47] NICE made three specific recommendation for diet: (1) reduction of dietary salt to 3 g per day by 2025; (2) halving consumption of saturated fats; and (3) eliminating the use of industrially produced trans fatty acids in food.

[citation needed] Rejecting an outright ban, the Health Secretary Andrew Lansley launched on 15 March 2012 a voluntary pledge to remove artificial trans fats by the end of the year.

Simon Capewell, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Liverpool, felt that justifying intake on the basis of average figures was unsuitable since some members of the community could considerably exceed this.

Without specific prior knowledge about trans fat and its negative health effects, consumers, including those at risk for heart disease, may misinterpret nutrient information provided on the panel.

[56] Critics of the plan, including FDA advisor Dr. Carlos Camargo, have expressed concern that the 0.5 gram per serving threshold is too high to refer to a food as free of trans fat.

[57] Despite this, the FDA estimates that by 2009, trans fat labeling will have prevented from 600 to 1,200 cases of coronary artery disease, and 250 to 500 deaths, yearly.

[citation needed] The American Medical Association supports any state and federal efforts to ban the use of artificial trans fats in U.S. restaurants and bakeries.

[63] The FDA agreed in May 2018 to give companies one more year to find other ingredients for enhancing product flavors or grease industrial baking pans, effectively banning trans fats in the United States from May 2019 onwards.

[citation needed] In 2005, Tiburon, California, became the first American city where all restaurants voluntarily cook with trans fat-free oils.

[66] New York City embarked on a campaign in 2005 to reduce consumption of trans fats, noting that heart disease is the primary cause of resident deaths.

This has included a public education campaign and a request to restaurant owners to eliminate trans fat from their offerings voluntarily.

[67] Finding that the voluntary program was not successful, New York City's Board of Health in 2006 solicited public comments on a proposal to ban artificial trans fats in restaurants.

[79] In July 2008, California became the first state to ban trans fats in restaurants effective 1 January 2010; Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill into law.

"[84] Kummerow's petition stated that "Artificial trans fat is a poisonous and deleterious substance, and the FDA has acknowledged the danger.

"[85] Three months after the suit was filed,[84] on 16 June 2015, the FDA moved to eliminate artificial trans fats from the U.S. food supply, giving manufacturers a deadline of three years.

[citation needed] On 22 May 2004, Unilever, the corporate descendant of Joseph Crosfield & Sons (the original producer of Wilhelm Normann's hydrogenation hardened oils) announced that they have eliminated trans fats from all their margarine products in Canada, including their flagship Becel brand.