Now is the moment to eliminate a human-made health challenge: Trans fat

Wars and other human-made health crises understandably capture global emotion, attention, and urgent calls for action. However, there is another less visible human-made health challenge that countries are increasingly fighting against. The drive to rid the global food supply of industrial trans fat — a chemical responsible for over 278,000 deaths each year around the world — is a clear case of government commitment and action successfully promoting health and saving lives. Industrially produced trans fat is a silent killer found in everyday products, often in baked goods, snacks, and margarine. It is formed when liquid vegetable oils are industrially processed into semisolid forms to improve texture, taste, and shelf life. Trans fat has no known health benefits but numerous proven harms. Even small amounts can increase the risk of coronary heart disease. However, with dedicated action, trans fat can be significantly reduced, or even eliminated, from the food supply, offering hope for a healthier future for tens of millions of people worldwide. The draft declaration to be discussed at this month’s high-level meeting on noncommunicable diseases at the United Nations General Assembly includes a call to remove trans fatty acids from food to reduce unhealthy diets around the globe. In 2018, the World Health Organization proudly launched a global initiative supported by its member states to eliminate trans fat from the processed food supply. Two years later, WHO initiated a program to recognize countries for successfully doing so. And that campaign is now bearing fruit. In 2023, Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand were the first countries recognized for eliminating trans fat. As of May 2025, Austria, Norway, Oman, and Singapore have joined them. Across the nine countries, a combined population of over 170 million people live in nations now certified by WHO for eliminating trans fat from food manufacturing. Austria was one of the first countries to introduce limits on trans fat content in foods in 2009, and has since seen a significant reduction in trans fat levels across the food supply, with most products now complying with limits during routine monitoring. Norway was an early adopter of restrictions on trans fat, first adopting limits in 2014. Monitoring of dietary intake has shown a steady decline in consumption over time, and trans fat has consistently accounted for less than 1% of energy intake. In 2022, the Sultanate of Oman joined other Gulf Cooperation Council countries to prohibit the production, import, and marketing of partially hydrogenated oils and related food products. This decisive move aligned with Oman’s broader goal of eliminating all forms of malnutrition, as outlined in its National Nutrition Strategy 2020-2030. Singapore has pursued trans fat elimination since 2013 and has imposed a limit on all fats and oils sold in retail or supplied to food service establishments and manufacturers. Later, Singapore prohibited the use of partially hydrogenated oils, or PHO, as an ingredient in fats, oils, and prepackaged foods. The city-state has also worked with major food companies to reformulate their products to be PHO-free. Encouragingly, food manufacturers themselves are supporting this effort. Members of the International Food and Beverage Alliance have committed to eliminating trans fat from their products. While progress has been made, efforts remain varied and reflect a broader, ongoing shift within the food industry to create healthier food options and contribute to the global fight against trans fat. When WHO first called for the global elimination of industrially produced trans fat seven years ago, only 11 countries, covering 6% of the global population, had best-practice trans fat elimination policies in effect. This number has since grown to almost 60, including the nine nations certified by WHO, comprising 46% of the global population. In 2019, the European Union also established a legal limit — applying to all countries in the European economic area — of no more than 2 grams of trans fat per 100 grams of oil or fat used in food. We look forward to these and all other countries being recognized by WHO as eliminating trans fat from their manufactured food supplies. An essential ingredient in success against trans fat is the implementation of national systems to rigorously monitor and enforce the application of policies to remove the deadly threat from the food supply. As Austria, Norway, Oman, and Singapore have demonstrated, it is possible to achieve great change when strong commitment is paired with decisive evidence-based action. But while measures are in place in many countries, continued monitoring and enforcement are essential to ensure policies are effective in eliminating trans fat. Let’s build on this momentum and protect more people from this deadly product. We call on all governments to join this growing movement and commit to a future free from trans fat, where preventable deaths are averted, and everyone can benefit from safer and healthier food. A world safer from human-made trans fat is within reach.