Millions of people still exposed to the danger of trans fats, warns the WHO

The goal of ending the Trans fat industry is far from being reached and 5 billion consumers around the world are still exposed to these toxic substances, the World Health Organization (WHO)which highlighted a plan of Mexico to remove these chemicals from feed.

The WHO set a goal in 2018 to eliminate these trans fatty acids from the world’s diet by 2023.

In a report published this Monday, the organization acknowledged, however, that this objective is “unreachable” now.

“They have no known benefits, pose many health risks and generate gigantic costs for health systems”WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

The head of the WHO launched a call to get rid of “at once” of these “toxic chemicals that kill”.

Currently, only 43% of the world population benefits from a form of protection against these products, which the WHO estimates are the cause of cardiovascular diseases that cause 500,000 deaths each year.

Of the 60 countries that announced plans to eliminate industrial trans fatty acids, only 43 adopted best practices: a mandatory limit so that these substances do not represent more than 2% of the oils and fats in the whole of a food product, or a ban on partially hydrogenated oils.

Industrial trans fatty acids are present in solidified vegetable fats, such as margarine or ghee, and are often found in snack foods, baked goods, and fried foods.

Manufacturers use them because they last longer and are cheaper.

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Ecuador, lagging behind

“There are some regions of the world that do not know that the problem exists”stressed Francesco Branca, head of food safety at the WHO, at a press conference in which he stressed that there are alternative food products that do not cost more.

Currently, nine of the 16 countries where there is an estimated highest proportion of deaths from coronary heart disease caused by trans fats have not adopted the recommendations. These are Ecuador, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Egypt, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan and South Korea.

“Honestly, when there is trans fat, people die and this should be prohibited,” said Tom Frieden, former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and now president of the NGO Resolve to Save Lives, which fights cardiovascular disease.

“There is simply no excuse for a country not to take steps to protect its population from a man-made toxic chemical”denounced.

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The WHO highlighted the plans of Mexico, Nigeria and Sri Lanka to combat the use of these substances in food production.

Mexico – a country where the problem is widespread – “is about to act, so we really hope to see Mexico and Nigeria move a step in the near future”celebrated for his part Frieden.

“Trans fats are not seen in the diet. You may not know they are there. If you had a heart attack and died, you wouldn’t know what the cause was.”warned, noting that it is “optimistic” as for the world to achieve “leave trans fats behind”.

(With information from AFP)