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IDF Factsheet 003/2018-05

Trans fatty acids (TFA) to be differentiated into industrially produced TFAs and naturally present TFAs

• Trans fatty acids (TFA) are a specific type of unsaturated fatty acids. There are two dietary sources of TFA.IndustriallyproducedTFAareformedduringthehardeningprocess,calledpartialhydrogenationofvegetableoils.Theyarefoundinvariousproductsincludingspreads,bakedgoods,friedfoodandfryingfats.NaturallyoccurringTFA - also referred to as ruminant TFA - areproducedby ruminants suchas cowsandare thereforenaturallypresentinruminantmeat(e.g.beefandlamb)andmilk.Indairyproducts,naturalTFAarepartofthemilkfat.

• ThedetrimentaleffectsofindustrialTFAonhearthealtharewellaccepted:

- The FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Fats and Fatty Acids in Human Nutrition concluded in 2010:

“There is convincing evidence that TFA from commercial partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (PHVO) increase CHD risk factors and CHD events – more so than had been thought in the past.

ThereisalsoprobableevidenceofanincreasedriskoffatalCHDandsuddencardiacdeathinadditiontoan increased risk of metabolic syndrome components and diabetes.”a

- A2015systematicreviewandmeta-analysiscommissionedbyWHO,reported:

“Consistent with the findings of a previous meta-analysis of observational studies, our study […] foundthat industrially produced, but not ruminant derived, trans fats are associated with risk of CHD…” b

-A2016WHOScientificupdateonTFAalsoconfirmed:

“The results of this meta-regression analysis show clearly and consistently that reducing intake of totalor industrial TFA by replacing either with cis-MUFA or cis-PUFA, and to a lesser extent, carbohydrates,improvesthelipidandlipoproteinprofilestowardsreducedriskofCVD.TheresultsonruminantTFAstudieswere less conclusive…” c (Formoredetailson this report, read IDFspecific factsheeton the IDF intranet)

• Furthermore,emergingevidenceshowsthatthebiologicalactivitiesofindustrialandruminantTFAdiffer,andthatcertainruminantTFA(suchasrumenic,vaccenicandt-palmitoleicacids,…)maybeassociatedwithbeneficialhealtheffects inhumans.dForexample, thefindingsof themeta-analysisofprospectivecohortstudiescommissionedbyWHO(2015)showedthat“Ruminanttrans-palmitoleicacidwas inverselyassociatedwithtype2diabetes”b

• Consumption of ruminant TFA at doses achievable by the diet alone has no adverse effect on CHDrisk.e ; f Milk and dairy products contain low amounts of natural TFA. Whole milk contains about0.08 g of natural TFA/100g of product (i.e < 0.1%), butter contains about 2.6 g/100g (i.e < 3%).

• Asthe intakeof industrialTFAsubstantiallydecreased inthepastdecade, totalTFA intakewentdownaswell,while theabsoluteamountofnaturalTFAeaten fromdairyandmeatdidnotchange.Statingthat thecurrentconsumptionofnaturalTFAhasincreasedismisleading;thecorrectstatementisthattherelativecontributionofnaturalTFAtothetotalTFAintakehasbecomehigher.Yet,thehabitualintakeofruminantTFAiswellbelowthemaximumrecommendedintakeof1En%.

IDF Factsheet – February 2017IDF Factsheet 003/2018-05

Interna�onal Dairy Federa�on www.fil-idf.org

• TFAs naturally occurring in dairy foods are produced in the rumen of the cow and are an integral partof milk/meat fat. Contrary to highly processed foods, products naturally containing some amounts ofruminant TFAs, such as milk and dairy products, have very limited opportunities for reformulation.

• Given the above, it is important to differentiate ruminant TFAwith industrially-produced TFA. Recommendingin policies the virtual elimination of all TFAswithout differentiation between the types of TFAwill potentiallylead to poorer diets. This may result in discouraging consumers from eating dairy products. Milk and dairyfoodsplayakeyroleinhealthyhumannutritionanddevelopmentthroughoutlife,andespeciallyinchildhood.d

• TheEuropeanCommissioniscurrentlyworkingonapossibleEU-basedinitiativetolimitintakesofindustrial trans fatsinthedietofEUconsumers,suchasmandatorylabellingoftotaltransfatscontentoffoodsonfoodlabels.

• At international level,work and discussion on claim for “Free of trans fatty acids” are under progresswithinthe CODEX Committee on Nutrition and Foods. The proposed claim “free of TFA” is not supported by thedairy industry. The dairy sector strongly recommended that any consideration of claims related to TFAsbe reconsidered in the context of reduction of trans fatty acids from partially hydrogenated oils and fats.

a FAO(2010)FoodandNutritionpaper91.Fatsandfattyacidsinhumannutrition.Reportofanexpertconsultationb deSouzaRJ,etal.,(2015)Intakeofsaturatedandtransunsaturatedfattyacidsandriskofall-causemortality,cardiovasculardisease,andtype2diabetes:systematicreviewandmeta-analysisofobservationalstudies.BMJ;351:h3978

c BrouwerIA,WorldHealthOrganization(2016).Effectoftrans-fattyacidintakeonbloodlipidsandlipoproteins:asystematicreviewandmeta-regression analysis

http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/246109/1/9789241510608-eng.pdfd WangYetal.,(2013)Currentissuessurroundingthedefinitionoftrans-fattyacids:implicationsforhealth,industryandfoodlabels.BrJNutr.Oct;110(8):1369-83

e UauyRetal.,(2009).WHOScientificupdateontransfattyacids:summaryandconclusions.EJCN63,S68-75f Gayet-BoyerC,etal., (2014) Istherea linearrelationshipbetweenthedoseofruminanttrans-fattyacidsandcardiovascularriskmarkers inhealthysubjects:resultsfromasystematicreviewandmeta-regressionofrandomisedclinicaltrials.BrJNutr.;112(12):1914-1922