World Health Organization (WHO) has launched comprehensive plan “REPLACE” to eliminate industrially-produced artificial trans-fats from global food supply by 2023. The elimination of trans-fats is key to protecting health and saving lives. REPLACE is abbreviated in six strategic actions as Review, Promote, Legislate, Assess, Create awareness and Enforce.
Key Facts
-
The campaign provides step-by-step guide in six strategic actions of ‘REPLACE’ package to ensure prompt, complete, and sustained elimination of industrially-produced trans-fats from global food supply.
-
Implementing six strategic actions will help achieve elimination of trans-fat and represent major victory in the global fight against cardiovascular diseases.
Six areas of action include:
-
Review dietary sources of industrially produced transfats and landscape for required policy change.
-
Promote replacement of industrially produced transfats with healtier fats and oils.
-
Legislate or enact regulatory actions to eliminate industrially produced transfat.
-
Assess and monitor trans-fat content in the food supply and changes in transfat consumption in the population…
-
Create awareness of the negative health impact of trans-fat among policy makers, producers, suppliers and the public.
-
Enforce compliance with policies and regulations.
Why this is needed?
-
Industrially-produced trans-fats are contained in hardened vegetable fats such as margarine and ghee, and are often present in snack, baked, and fried foods.
-
Manufacturers often use them as they have longer shelf life than other fats. Increased intake of trans fat (>1% of total energy intake) is associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease mortality and events as trans-fats clog arteries, increasing the risk of heart attacks.
-
WHO estimates that every year, trans fat intake leads to over 5,00,000 deaths worldwide from cardiovascular diseases.
-
Denmark was first country to mandate restrictions on industrially-produced trans fats