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Nutritionists now oppose UN’s new strategy to phase out trans-fats
What you need to know:
- Trans-fat is a specific type of fat that can be found in baked and fried foods, and is also found in milk and meat. It is known to raise the level of bad cholesterol in the body and cause heart attacks and death.
Dar es Salaam. A draft UN declaration to eliminate trans-fatty acids from global diets, which also targets reduced milk and meat consumption, has sparked mixed reactions, with experts warning it may worsen malnutrition by limiting access to nutrient-dense foods.
This warning is contained in a joint press statement by experts from Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).
Trans-fat is a specific type of fat that can be found in baked and fried foods, and is also found in milk and meat. It is known to raise the level of bad cholesterol in the body and cause heart attacks and death.
The declaration, which the UN wants countries to make in September, aims at reducing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes and proposes to eliminate all trans-fatty acids from global diets. Information from the World Health Organisation (WHO), one of the UN agencies behind the push for the elimination, says trans-fatty acids, both industrially produced and naturally occurring trans-fat (in milk and meat), are harmful.
But writing in a letter to UN negotiators, the organisations said: “The risk of a blanket commitment to eliminate all trans-fatty acids is that it unnecessarily discourages the consumption of highly nutritious dairy, meat and other animal-source foods.
And once again, the burden will fall heaviest on low- and middle-income countries, where nutrient-rich meat, milk, and dairy are already under-consumed.”
They stated that in 2023, one in every five Africans faced hunger and around a third of children under five were affected by stunting. “Animal-source foods like meat and milk are energy-dense and a rich source of high-quality proteins and micronutrients, including Vitamins A and iodine,” the organisations argued.
The debate
The draft resolution is currently under review with member states, with a final draft due to be presented for endorsement at the UN General Assembly in September. The WHO further states that there is a general need to eliminate or reduce the consumption of trans-fats from all sources.
But Ruth Oniang’o, a professor of food science and nutrition and editor-in-chief of the African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, was quoted in the joint statement as indicating that the animal source is largely safe when it comes to the trans-fats debate. A nutrition expert and ILRI’s Director General’s Representative to Ethiopia, Ms Covic Namukolo, said industrially-produced trans-fatty acids come from food processing, a sector that is still in its infancy in many African countries.
“These countries have the opportunity to create a new food future as their food systems transform. These food systems must transform towards eliminating industrially derived trans-fat,” she noted. But the WHO also states that in 2024, more than 278,000 deaths each year globally can be attributed to the intake of industrially produced trans-fat. Trans-fat clogs arteries, increasing the risk of heart attacks and deaths.
