(ABC News) — The World Health Organisation (WHO) wants industrially-produced trans fats — linked with 500,000 deaths worldwide each year — stripped out of the global food supply within five years.
Margarine, ghee, and hardened vegetable fats often contain industrially produced trans fats — and as they are also present in many snacks, baked goods and fried foods.
Health advocates say these fats are the most harmful fat in the food supply. According to WHO, they lead to death by contributing to cardiovascular disease.
WHO is calling on governments around the world to use its REPLACE action plan to swap trans fats for healthier options, which it says will not affect the taste or cost of food.
“It’s a crisis level, and it’s major front in our fight now,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva.
The REPLACE plan urges governments to assess and monitor trans fats consumption, promote substitution with healthier products, and establish laws or regulations to stamp out trans fats, and raise awareness of the risks of their use. (…)