Limitations of TFA content in foods

• Individual EU Member States have imposed limits on TFA content of foods:
  • Austria, Hungary: 2 g per 100 g of total fat content. In multi-ingredient foods with total fat content not exceeding 20%, TFA limit is 4 g/100 g of food, while for total fat content not exceeding 3%, TFA limit is 10 g/100 g of total fat.
  • Denmark ( EU Parliament 2016 (pdf) ) : TFA limit on of 2 g per 100 g of oil or fat.
  • Latvia: general TFA limit on 2g per 100g of total fat content. For foods having a total fat content between 3 and 20%, TFA may not exceed 4 g per 100 g of total fat; for foods with total fat content less than 3%, TFA may not exceed 10 g per 100g of total fat content. These restrictions will not apply to fats of animal origin and foodstuffs where TFA are found naturally and have not been added during manufacturing ( European Social Charter 2017 (pdf) ).
  • Finland: less than 1% TFA limit in the fat ingredient of spreadable consumer margarine products
  • Greece, Spain, Romania include limits for all or certain food products sold in schools ( JRC 2015 )
• EU wide TFA limit of 3% of total fat in infant and follow-on formula ( EC 2016 (pdf) ).

• TFA limit on of 2 g per 100 g of total fat content.

• Sale of products exceeding TFA content of 2 g/100 g of total fat is prohibited.

• TFA limit of 2 g per 100 g of vegetable oil or fat.

• TFA content must not exceed 2% of total vegetable fats in oils and margarines or 5% of total fat in all other foods.

• TFA content limit in corn, palm, frying and mixed liquid oils reduced to 10% (from 20%).

• Limit of 2% TFA in pre-packaged edible fats and oils for sale or use as an ingredient in the preparation of foods.

• Prohibition of sale, manufacturing and import of oils or fats, alone or as part of processed foods, that exceed TFA content of 2 g/100 g, across retail, catering, restaurants, bakeries and institutions.

• FDA has removed the Generally Recognised As Safe (GRAS) status of partially hydrogenated oils, the primary source of iTFA in foods. FDA in 2015 had set a compliance period of three years, extended recently to 2021, to allow manufacturers to reformulate products without PHOs or to petition for permissions of specific uses of PHOs.

Limitations of total fat content in foods

• Carcasses and cuts of pork and beef should contain no more than 25% fat by mass, poultry no more than 15% fat by mass and lamb no more than 30% fat.

School food policies

• Various EU Member States school food policies include voluntary or mandatory standards that limit or forbid provision of foods high in fat in school restaurants and canteens. Examples include recommendations or requirements for use of low-fat foods, restrictions on what type of fats/oils to be used in cooking, and reference points for fat content of foods/meals for lunch or other meal times. Most school food policies recommend a daily total fat intake of 25-35 E%, and some countries also have specific instructions for preferring vegetable oils over animal fat and limiting specifically the intake of SFA or TFA.
• The EU fruit and vegetable and milk scheme, financed through the EU's Common Agricultural Policy provides fruit, vegetables and milk to children in schools, aiming to increase increase their consumption. Among the criteria established, products to be distributed to schools should aim to have no added fat. Products containing limited quantities of added fat may be allowed if authorised by the relevant national health/nutrition authorities ( DG AGRI , EU 2016 (pdf) ).

• The 'Smart Choices' school standards use a nutrient profiling system based on energy, sugar, sodium, fibre and SFA content. 'Red' category foods should only be supplied on one or two occasions per term.

• To qualify for government subsidies, meals served at universities must abide by specific nutrition criteria on salt, fibre, total fat and SFA content, for all meal components.

• The Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act sets standards for the national school lunch and breakfast programmes. For example, Smart Snack standards limit total fat content in the snack or main course meals to maximum 35% and 10% of calories, while TFA should be absent (0 g).

Workplace policies

• Scottish government guidelines for NHS hospital settings mandated that vending machines must contain prominently positioned water, unsweetened fruit juice and low-fat milk, and that at least 30% of snacks and confectionaries and 70% of refrigerated food, meet nutrition criteria based on sugar, salt/sodium, fat and SFA content.

• All food and beverages in vending machines on government premises meet nutrition criteria based on content of sodium, sugar, total fat, SFA and TFA.

• Government organisations mandated to use standard oils with less than 2% TFA content.

Social support programmes

• Milk for at-risk school age children must be low-fat.

• Government subsidised milk distribution to low-income households provides mainly low-fat milk.

• San Bernardino County (CA) Healthy Food Banking Wellness policy has procurement guidelines which include low fat dairy products and beverages.

Fat-related taxes

• Denmark excise duty of 16 DKK/kg (approx. 2.15€) of saturated fat on meat, dairy products and animal fats and vegetable oils containing more than 2.3% SFA, applying to producers with yearly revenue of more than 50000 DKK (approx. 6700€). Tax was introduced in Oct 2011 and abolished in Jan 2013. For an in depth analysis see ( ECSIP 2016 ).

• 1$ tax per kg of animal fat in Tonga.

• import duty on palm oil in Fiji

• Kerala state government 'fat tax' on pizzas, burgers and similar foods in branded restaurants

• Navajo Nation has a 2% tax on foods with minimal nutritional value, including high in salt, sugar and SFA content.

Food marketing restrictions

• Various mandatory (via legislation) or voluntary (via industry self-regulation) policies are in place in the EU to restrict food marketing of foods that are high in sugar, salt and fats to children; a major industry self-regulation effort is the EU Pledge. See the 'Food Marketing to Children' chapter of the present guide for a detailed analysis.

• In the US, the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative is a major industry self-regulatory effort to restrict marketing of foods that are high in sugar, salt and fats to children. See the 'Food Marketing to Children' chapter of the present guide for a detailed analysis 

Food reformulation

• The EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health ( EU platform ) is a European Commission led and co-ordinated forum for EU stakeholder organisations, ranging from industry to consumer protection and NGOs that are voluntarily committing to tackle current trends in unhealthy diets and lack of physical activity. Various private food sector commitments are aimed to reformulate packaged foods and improve their nutritional profile by reducing, total fat, SFA and TFA ( EC 2015 ).
• The 2016 Dutch Presidency Roadmap for Action on Food Product Improvement aims to facilitate industry reformulation efforts by accelerating coordinated action from national governments, food business operators and NGOs, supported by sound research, independent monitoring and best practice exchange. The Roadmap is endorsed by the majority of EU MS as well as food business operators and some NGOs.
• The EU framework for national initiatives on selected nutrients ( EU framework (pdf) ) aims to contribute towards achieving population intake levels and dietary patterns recommended by national authorities, EFSA and WHO. Selected nutrientsinclude total fat, SFA and TFA. Annex I ( EU framework annex I (pdf) ) is specifically addressing SFA:
  • Annex I complements the general EU Framework for National Initiatives on Selected Nutrients by setting detailed benchmarks and major food categories to focus action on, such as: school meals; ready meals; dairy, cheese, and meat products; fats, oils, and margarines; breakfast cereals; and modern restaurant meals.
  • Annex I also proposes special arrangements for SFA reduction in dairy and meat products, and to identify 'best in class' products for specific food categories with lowest possible SFA content, encouraging food producers to move towards such 'best in class' products.
  • Annex I notes that the reduction in SFA should not lead to an increase in absolute amounts of TFA, sugars, salt or calories, and proposes a general benchmark of a minimum 5% SFA reduction within the first 4 yrs. and an additional 5% reduction by 2020, against individual nation baselines of 2012.

• Voluntary agreement between governmental institutions and industry to reformulate foods under the Kuwait Salt and Fat Intake Reduction Task Force.

Retail initiatives

• In New York city, staff from the Department of Health collaborate with shop owners in areas with high rates of obesity, with the aim of making available in food stores and encourage sales of low-salt and no-sugar-added canned foods, as well as low-fat milk alternatives.

Labelling legislation

• Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 on food information to consumers requires mandatory nutrition declaration for the amounts of fats and saturated fats (in g per 100 g of product), in prepacked foods. The above mandatory information may be supplemented with an indication of the amounts of MUFA and PUFA. See 5.3 for more details¹.
• Under Regulation (EU) 1924/2006 ( EC 2006 ) for health and nutrition claims made on foods, fat-related nutrition claims permitted are: fat free/low, saturated fat free/low, source of omega-3 fatty acids, high unsaturated, monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat. See 5.3 for more details.

• Health claims are not permitted on foods that contain, per reference amount customarily consumed or per labelling serving size (exceptions apply) more than a set amount of 'disqualifying nutrient levels', i.e. 13g of total fats, 4 g of SFA, and 60 mg of cholesterol.

• Health claims are not permitted on foods that do not meet specific nutrient profile criteria, e.g. foods high in saturated fats

• TFA content labelling obligatory in various countries, with various specific requirements (e.g. per 100 g or per serving, content threshold under which TFA labelling can be listed as zero, e.g. 0.3 or 0.5 g per serving)

• Various Central American countries established common rules on the use of nutrient claims (e.g. low fat), which are not permitted if the foods promote or sanction excessive consumption of these nutrients or undermine good dietary practice.

• Mandatory TFA labelling is required for total fat content > 3 g per serving.
• Foods exceeding specific limits in calories, sugar, sodium as well as SFA content (4 g/100 g or 3 g/100 ml) must carry a front of pack 'stop' warning sign that reads 'HIGH IN'. More than one of these warnings is possible on the same product.

• Nutrition or health claims may only be used on processed foods or beverages that do not exceed certain fats thresholds (13 g total fat, 4 g saturated fat, 60 mg cholesterol) per serving.

• All chain restaurants with 100 or more establishments are required to display nutrient information on menus including energy, total sugars, protein, sodium and SFA.

• In the US, total fat, SFA, cholesterol and TFA content (in grams per serving) should be listed in nutrition labelling. For SFA and cholesterol the calorie % of the serving, related to the daily calorie recommended value (E%), should also be listed. The recent (2016) US Nutrition Facts Label regulation revision removed the declaration of % of calories from total fat, because 'current science supports a view that the type of fat is more relevant than overall total fat intake in increased risk of chronic diseases'.
• US legislation permits, but does not require, the declaration of MUFA or PUFA on the nutrition facts label.
• Nutrient content claims in the US are limited to an FDA approved list of nutrients. Packages bearing a nutrient claim must include a disclosure statement if the food serving contains more than set threshold values of sodium, fats, saturated fats and cholesterol (13 g, 4 g and 60 mg, respectively).
• Health claims are not permitted for foods with values above the specific thresholds for salt fat, saturated fat and cholesterol.

Voluntary labelling

• The Keyhole health logo labelling system by the Swedish National Food Agency used in Scandinavian countries. It is based on a nutrient profile model and aims to identify healthier packaged food choices within a food category, and to stimulate food manufacturers to reformulate and develop healthier products. Total fat, SFA and TFA content are among the nutrient criteria, and thresholds depend on the product category.

• The French Nutriscore front-of-pack labelling scheme discourages high saturated fat contents by assigning negative points depending on the saturated fat content per 100 g of food product.

• The Traffic Light front of pack voluntary labelling scheme proposed by the UK Food Standards Agency aims to assist consumers in identifying healthier food choices. It uses colour-coding related to low, medium or high content (per 100 g or ml) of selected nutrients in foods, including total fat and SFA. For total fat, the following thresholds are green/low: ≤3 g, amber/medium: 3 -20 g, red/high: >20 g. For SFA, the following thresholds are green/low: ≤ 1.5 g, amber/medium: 1.5 -5 g, red/high: >5.0 g.

• 'Healthy Living' is a voluntary labelling scheme with nutrient profiles for different food categories. The scheme is used as a benchmark for public health campaigns but also as a scientific basis for a national initiative on food marketing restraints. The scheme includes limits for SFA (grams per 100g of product, amount depending on food categories) and trans fats (for spreads, limit of 1g/100g).

• Government approved Health Star Rating (HSR) system as a voluntary scheme for industry adoption. The system takes into account aspects of a food associated with increasing risk for chronic diseases, including SFA.

• Ministry of Health developed a voluntary menu labelling for fast food chain restaurants. Nutrients are mostly displayed per portion and include calories, protein, carbohydrates, salt, sugar and fat.

Public health campaign

• The Change4Life campaign aims to improve diets and physical activity in the UK; 'Cut back Fat' is a major component aimed at reducing SFA consumption and increase consumption of unsaturated fats and provides examples of how this can be achieved.

Educational

• Cooking programmes in community kitchens, aiming to develop cooking skills and basic nutrition education in the more deprived areas; one of the focus areas is reduction of use of salt and SFA.