Regulating Trans Fat

The Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) has developed a practical tool to guide policymakers, civil society organizations, and other public health stakeholders as they develop measures to eliminate industrially produced trans-fatty acids (TFA) from the food supply.

The tool sets out six key questions to help stakeholders choose a type of TFA measure, and then tailor it to best fit a country’s legal and food system. The tool is informed by the experiences of countries that have regulated TFA. Lessons learned are featured throughout the tool to benefit other countries that are looking to protect their populations from TFA.

Using this tool as a guide, countries can work with confidence toward the World Health Organization (WHO) goal to eliminate industrially produced TFA from the food supply. Click below to access and download GHAI’s “Key Considerations for Regulating Trans Fat: How to Design a Measure to Fit Your Country’s Legal and Food Systems.”

Read More

We suggest using the report in conjunction with GHAI’s “Partially Hydrogenated Oil (PHO) Market Mapping: Identifying Sources of Industrially Produced Trans-Fatty Acids in the Food Supply,” which provides guidance for developing PHO market research, including a recommended methodology and key questions to answer. Other useful resources include two sampling protocols GHAI developed with Resolve to Save Lives for the rapid assessment of TFA in fats, oils and foods.