Harmful industrially produced trans fats are still used in food and more than five of the approximately eight billion people are not adequately protected from them. This was an interim report from the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday. She had actually wanted to ensure that the harmful components largely disappeared from the food chain worldwide by 2023.
“Trans fats are toxic substances that kill,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “It’s time to ban them from food once and for all.” The WHO called on governments that haven’t already done so to drastically limit the approval of trans fats. Countries with a high disease burden include Egypt, Pakistan and South Korea.
According to the WHO, trans fats are responsible for the premature death of half a million people every year from coronary heart disease. Since 2021, only foods that contain less than two grams of industrial trans fats per 100 grams of fat may be sold in the EU. Denmark had drastically restricted industrial trans fats around 20 years ago – and according to WHO information, then recorded a decline in cardiovascular diseases.
Trans fats or trans fatty acids are unsaturated fatty acids that can arise through natural and food technological processes. According to the German Society for Nutrition (DGE), a high intake has a negative effect on health, as the risk of a lipid metabolism disorder is increased. The risk of coronary heart disease also increases.
In food technology, spreadable products such as margarine were produced from liquid oils using so-called hydrogenation, whereby unsaturated fatty acids are converted into saturated fatty acids. According to the DGE, in addition to hydrogenation, trans fatty acids can also be produced during the thermal treatment of vegetable oils.
According to the DGE, the foods that can contain significant amounts of trans fatty acids include baked goods and confectionery as well as fried potato products and ready meals.
