Countdown to 2023: WHO report on global trans fat elimination 2021

Forty countries now have best-practice trans fat elimination policies in effect, protecting 1.4 billion people around the world from this deadly food compound, according to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO). The report showed that 940 million people living in high-income countries are protected by best-practice policies, but no one living in low-income countries is protected. Trans fat is an artificial compound that can be found in cakes, cookies, biscuits, packaged foods, cooking oils and spreads and is linked to increased risk of heart attacks and death from heart disease. Eliminating trans fat from the global food supply could save lives and reduces the burden on health care by preventing heart attacks.