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The World Health Organization (WHO) May 19, 2025 officially recognised four countries — Austria, Norway, Oman and Singapore — for their outstanding leadership in eliminating industrially produced trans fats from their national food supplies.
The announcement came on the opening day of the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the WHO, presented validation certificates to countries that effectively implemented best-practice policies and maintained robust monitoring and enforcement.
But the global progress towards the 2025 goal remains inadequate, despite policy intention across regions. When WHO launched its call to eliminate industrially produced trans fats in 2018, only 11 countries — representing just 6 per cent of the global population — had adopted best-practice policies.
The United Nations health agency had set a target of covering countries that account for at least 90 per cent of the global trans fat burden with best-practice polices by the end of 2025 — and at least 70 per cent within each region.
By May 2025, such policies were adopted by 60 countries, covering 46 per cent of the world’s population.
Trans fats, also known as trans-fatty acids (TFA), are unsaturated fats present in both industrial and natural sources. Industrially produced trans fats contribute to over 278,000 global deaths annually and are commonly found in baked goods like biscuits, pies, fried foods, margarine, vegetable shortening and Vanaspati ghee, among others. Both industrial and naturally occurring trans fats are equally detrimental to health, WHO stated.
“Eliminating industrially produced trans fats is one of the most cost-effective strategies to reduce the global burden of cardiovascular diseases,” said Ghebreyesus. “These countries are not only protecting the health of their populations, but also setting an exemplary standard for others to follow.”
Representatives of the countries awarded the certificates said elimination measures, strong monitoring and consistent public health policies, implemented collaboratively with industry, were the key to success.
India is among the countries that have made significant strides in the fight against trans fats. In January 2022, it enforced regulations limiting trans fats in oils and fats used in food products to no more than 2 per cent. The Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Second Amendment Regulations, 2021 placed India among the countries with best-practice trans fat elimination policies.
After Thailand, India was also led implementation of best practice policies in trans-fat elimination in Asia.
In Africa, South Africa and Nigeria have adopted best-practice trans fat elimination policy and are working on implementation.
Governments can eliminate the cause of 7 per cent of cardiovascular diseases globally with a low-cost investment aimed at reducing or eliminating trans fats from the food supply, the WHO noted.
Global elimination of industrially-produced trans fats can also help in achieving the United Nations-mandated Sustainable Development Goal of reducing premature death from noncommunicable diseases by a third by 2030.
According to WHO, replacing trans fats with healthier oils and fats is a low-cost intervention that yields high economic returns by improving population health, saving lives and reducing healthcare costs.
During the ongoing World Health Assembly, the United Nations agency reiterated its commitment to assisting nations in their efforts to eliminate trans fats. It also announced that the third round of applications for its validation program will remain open until August 31, 2025.
Countries must implement best-practice policies, like restricting trans fats to 2 grammes per 100 grammes of total fat or prohibiting partially hydrogenated oils, and also show strict enforcement and monitoring to qualify for the WHO's validation programme.
