Update on Trans Fatty Acids and Health : Position Statement by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition 2007

In 1994 the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy (COMA) published its report on "Nutritional Aspects of Cardiovascular Disease", which recommended that average intakes of trans fatty acids (trans FA) should not exceed 2 per cent of dietary energy. Later reviews by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 2003, followed by the European Food Safety Authority in 2004, confirmed the association between high intake of trans FA and Coronary Heart Disease (CHD).The WHO report "Diet, Nutrition and Chronic Disease" (2003) advised that the population goal should be less than 1 per cent energy from trans FA. In 2003, the Danish Government introduced legislation to require that industrially produced trans FA should be limited to 2 per cent of the total amount of fat or oil in a food. During 2006, voluntary guidelines regarding the trans FA content of foods sold in retail outlets and catering establishments were established in Canada.In October 2007, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) received a request from the Secretary of State for Health to consider whether, because of concerns about the health impacts of trans FA consumption, there is sufficient evidence to make a recommendation that all individuals should consume less than 1 per cent energy as trans FA. As a result, the Agency asked the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) to review the current evidence on the health effects of trans FA.This position statement considers recent evidence regarding the health effects of trans fatty acids (trans FA) in order to determine whether current population dietary advice on trans FA should be revised. The review arose from a request from the Secretary of State for Health to the Food Standards Agency for advice on the evidence in relation to the health effects of trans FA.The chapters include: Trans Fatty Acids (FA) and Health; Trans FA and coronary heart disease; Trans FA and cancer; Trans FA and obesity; Diabetes; Early development; Other health issues; Conjugated Linoleic Acids (CLA) and Health; Introduction; CLA and body composition; CLA and insulin sensitivity; CLA, blood lipid levels and atherogenesis; and, CLA and carcinogenesis.