Approaches to removing trans fats from the food supply in industrialized and developing countries

A number of approaches have been initiated by governmental and public health organizations in different countries to reduce trans-fatty acid (TFA) intakes. These have included nutrition recommendations with regard to TFAs and general nutrition recommendations regarding the selection of healthy fats, programmes to raise awareness about the adverse effects of TFAs through nutrition and health claims, voluntary or mandatory labelling of the trans content of foods, voluntary or legislated programmes to encourage or force industry to reformulate food products to remove TFAs, the promotion of health and agricultural policies that encourage the production of healthy alternatives to trans fat and finally, mandatory regulation of food standards to remove or reduce the TFA content. This paper reviews a number of initiatives to reduce the intake of TFAs underway in selected industrialized and developing countries, which serves to illustrate the merits and limitations of the available options and how the approaches that have been taken reflect local conditions.Facultad de Ciencias Médica

Approaches to removing trans fats from the food supply in industrialized and developing countries

A number of approaches have been initiated by governmental and public health organizations in different countries to reduce trans-fatty acid (TFA) intakes. These have included nutrition recommendations with regard to TFAs and general nutrition recommendations regarding the selection of healthy fats, programmes to raise awareness about the adverse effects of TFAs through nutrition and health claims, voluntary or mandatory labelling of the trans content of foods, voluntary or legislated programmes to encourage or force industry to reformulate food products to remove TFAs, the promotion of health and agricultural policies that encourage the production of healthy alternatives to trans fat and finally, mandatory regulation of food standards to remove or reduce the TFA content. This paper reviews a number of initiatives to reduce the intake of TFAs underway in selected industrialized and developing countries, which serves to illustrate the merits and limitations of the available options and how the approaches that have been taken reflect local conditions.Facultad de Ciencias Médica

WHO scientific update on trans fatty acids: Summary and conclusions

The purpose of the WHO scientific review on trans fatty acids (TFAs) was to examine the evidence generated since the 1993 Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Fats and Oils in Human Nutrition, and to inform member countries on the health consequences of TFAs consumption that have emerged since the last report was released. The new information was deemed sufficient to recommend the need to significantly reduce or to virtually eliminate industrially produced TFA from the food supply in agreement with the implementation of the 2004 WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. This goal has been accomplished in some countries and cities, by the virtual elimination of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils in the human food supply, replacing them with healthy cis-unsaturated fatty acids. The document provides the evidence base to promote discussion between the international scientific community related to nutrition and health as well as between agriculturalists, food producers, relevant health professionals, national and international food regulatory agencies, civil society and the private sector to achieve the stated goal.Facultad de Ciencias Médica

A proposed approach to monitor private-sector policies and practices related to food environments, obesity and non-communicable disease prevention

Private-sector organizations play a critical role in shaping the food environments of individuals and populations. However, there is currently very limited independent monitoring of private-sector actions related to food environments. This paper reviews previous efforts to monitor the private sector in this area, and outlines a proposed approach to monitor private-sector policies and practices related to food environments, and their influence on obesity and non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention. A step-wise approach to data collection is recommended, in which the first (‘minimal’) step is the collation of publicly available food and nutrition-related policies of selected private-sector organizations. The second (‘expanded’) step assesses the nutritional composition of each organization’s products, their promotions to children, their labelling practices, and the accessibility, availability and affordability of their products. The third (‘optimal’) step includes data on other commercial activities that may influence food environments, such as political lobbying and corporate philanthropy. The proposed approach will be further developed and piloted in countries of varying size and income levels. There is potential for this approach to enable national and international benchmarking of private-sector policies and practices, and to inform efforts to hold the private sector to account for their role in obesity and NCD prevention

Approaches to removing trans fats from the food supply in industrialized and developing countries

A number of approaches have been initiated by governmental and public health organizations in different countries to reduce trans-fatty acid (TFA) intakes. These have included nutrition recommendations with regard to TFAs and general nutrition recommendations regarding the selection of healthy fats, programmes to raise awareness about the adverse effects of TFAs through nutrition and health claims, voluntary or mandatory labelling of the trans content of foods, voluntary or legislated programmes to encourage or force industry to reformulate food products to remove TFAs, the promotion of health and agricultural policies that encourage the production of healthy alternatives to trans fat and finally, mandatory regulation of food standards to remove or reduce the TFA content. This paper reviews a number of initiatives to reduce the intake of TFAs underway in selected industrialized and developing countries, which serves to illustrate the merits and limitations of the available options and how the approaches that have been taken reflect local conditions.Facultad de Ciencias Médica

Inverse Association between trans Isomeric and Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Pregnant Women and Their Newborns: Data from Three European Countries

Background: trans unsaturated fatty acids are thought to interfere with essential fatty acid metabolism. To extend our knowledge of this phenomenon, we investigated the relationship between trans isomeric and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) in mothers during pregnancy and in their infants at birth. Methods: Fatty acid composition of erythrocyte phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) was determined in Spanish (n = 120), German (n = 78) and Hungarian (n = 43) women at the 20th and 30th week of gestation, at delivery and in their newborns. Results: At the 20th week of gestation, the sum of trans fatty acids in PE was significantly (p < 0.01) lower in Hungarian [0.73 (0.51), % wt/wt, median (IQR)] than in Spanish [1.42 (1.36)] and German [1.30 (1.21)] women. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) values in PE were significantly (p < 0.01) higher in Hungarian {[}5.65 (2.09)] than in Spanish [4.37 (2.60)] or German [4.39 (3.3.2)] women. The sum of trans fatty acids significantly inversely correlated to DHA in PCs in Spanish (r = -0.37, p < 0.001), German (n = -0.77, p < 0.001) and Hungarian (r = -0.35, p < 0.05) women, and in PEs in Spanish (r = -0.67, p < 0.001) and German (r = -0.71, p < 0.001), but not in Hungarian (r = -0.02) women. Significant inverse correlations were seen between trans fatty acids and DHA in PEs at the 30th week of gestation (n = 241, r = -0.52, p < 0.001), at delivery (n = 241, r = -0.40, p < 0.001) and in cord lipids (n = 218, r = -0.28, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Because humans cannot synthesize trans isomeric fatty acids, the data obtained in the present study support the concept that high maternal trans isomeric fatty acid intake may interfere with the availability of LCPUFA both for the mother and the fetus. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base

WHO scientific update on trans fatty acids: Summary and conclusions

The purpose of the WHO scientific review on trans fatty acids (TFAs) was to examine the evidence generated since the 1993 Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Fats and Oils in Human Nutrition, and to inform member countries on the health consequences of TFAs consumption that have emerged since the last report was released. The new information was deemed sufficient to recommend the need to significantly reduce or to virtually eliminate industrially produced TFA from the food supply in agreement with the implementation of the 2004 WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. This goal has been accomplished in some countries and cities, by the virtual elimination of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils in the human food supply, replacing them with healthy cis-unsaturated fatty acids. The document provides the evidence base to promote discussion between the international scientific community related to nutrition and health as well as between agriculturalists, food producers, relevant health professionals, national and international food regulatory agencies, civil society and the private sector to achieve the stated goal.Facultad de Ciencias Médica

High Diversity at PRDM9 in Chimpanzees and Bonobos

BACKGROUND: The PRDM9 locus in mammals has increasingly attracted research attention due to its role in mediating chromosomal recombination and possible involvement in hybrid sterility and hence speciation processes. The aim of this study was to characterize sequence variation at the PRDM9 locus in a sample of our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees and bonobos. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: PRDM9 contains a highly variable and repetitive zinc finger array. We amplified this domain using long-range PCR and determined the DNA sequences using conventional Sanger sequencing. From 17 chimpanzees representing three subspecies and five bonobos we obtained a total of 12 alleles differing at the nucleotide level. Based on a data set consisting of our data and recently published Pan PRDM9 sequences, we found that at the subspecies level, diversity levels did not differ among chimpanzee subspecies or between chimpanzee subspecies and bonobos. In contrast, the sample of chimpanzees harbors significantly more diversity at PRDM9 than samples of humans. Pan PRDM9 shows signs of rapid evolution including no alleles or ZnFs in common with humans as well as signals of positive selection in the residues responsible for DNA binding. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: The high number of alleles specific to the genus Pan, signs of positive selection in the DNA binding residues, and reported lack of conservation of recombination hotspots between chimpanzees and humans suggest that PRDM9 could be active in hotspot recruitment in the genus Pan. Chimpanzees and bonobos are considered separate species and do not have overlapping ranges in the wild, making the presence of shared alleles at the amino acid level between the chimpanzee and bonobo species interesting in view of the hypothesis that PRDM9 plays a universal role in interspecific hybrid sterility

Total and Free Sugar Content of Canadian Prepackaged Foods and Beverages

A number of recommendations for policy and program interventions to limit excess free sugar consumption have emerged, however there are a lack of data describing the amounts and types of sugar in foods. This study presents an assessment of sugar in Canadian prepackaged foods including: (a) the first systematic calculation of free sugar contents; (b) a comprehensive assessment of total sugar and free sugar levels; and (c) sweetener and free sugar ingredient use, using the University of Toronto’s Food Label Information Program (FLIP) database 2013 (n = 15,342). Food groups with the highest proportion of foods containing free sugar ingredients also had the highest median total sugar and free sugar contents (per 100 g/mL): desserts (94%, 15 g, and 12 g), sugars and sweets (91%, 50 g, and 50 g), and bakery products (83%, 16 g, and 14 g, proportion with free sugar ingredients, median total sugar and free sugar content in Canadian foods, respectively). Free sugar accounted for 64% of total sugar content. Eight of 17 food groups had ≥75% of the total sugar derived from free sugar. Free sugar contributed 20% of calories overall in prepackaged foods and beverages, with the highest at 70% in beverages. These data can be used to inform interventions aimed at limiting free sugar consumption