PRESS RELEASE
The Guide is an initiative of eleven of the largest global food and beverage companies in support of the World Health Organization’s goal of phasing out industrially-produced trans fat from the global food supply by 2023.
Geneva, Switzerland, 8 June 2022 – Members of the International Food & Beverage Alliance (IFBA) have taken a further step in support of the WHO’s efforts to eliminate industrially-produced trans fats (iTFAs) from the global food supply by publishing the Bakery and Confectionery Manufacturer’s Guide for iTFA Replacement.
Developed for IFBA by experts from the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS), with public health guidance from RESOLVE to Save Lives, this practical guide, based on state-of-the art research, aims to help food manufacturers around the world, large and small, effectively phase out iTFAs from their food products.
Despite global progress in eliminating iTFAs and partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) from global food systems, the WHO estimates that intake of iTFAs leads to more than 500,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease each year.
IFBA members have been working to remove iTFAs from their products for many years. Building on these efforts, in 2019, IFBA committed to align its global standard on the elimination of iTFAs by 2023 with the WHO’s recommendation and also committed to support other manufacturers to do the same.
The Bakery and Confectionery Manufacturer’s Guide for iTFA Replacement highlights the challenges of oil replacement and offers solutions, while keeping public health objectives front and centre.
“We hope this how-to Guide will be a useful and practical tool to help food manufacturers around the world replace harmful fats with healthy fats and oils,” said Rocco Renaldi, IFBA Secretary-General. “We will continue to share our technical expertise and best practices with governments, civil society and the broader food industry to help ensure that the objective of eliminating iTFAs from the global food supply by 2023 can be met.”
The Bakery and Confectionery Manufacturer’s Guide for iTFA Replacement is available here.
A short presentation of the Guide is available here.
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About The International Food & Beverage Alliance (IFBA): IFBA is an alliance of eleven multinational food and non-alcoholic beverage companies – The Coca-Cola Company, Danone, Ferrero, General Mills, Grupo Bimbo, Kellogg’s, Mars, Mondelēz International, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever – who share a common goal of helping people around the world achieve balanced diets and healthy lifestyles. IFBA is a non-commercial, non-profit-making organization in special consultative status with the UN’s Economic and Social Committee (ECOSOC). For further information, please visit www.ifballiance.org
For all enquiries:
Rocco Renaldi
Secretary-General
+32 473 40 18 27
