1. Progress towards elimination of trans-fatty acids in foods commonly consumed in four Latin American cities.
- Author
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Monge-Rojas, Rafael, Colón-Ramos, Uriyoán, Jacoby, Enrique, Alfaro, Thelma, Tavares do Carmo, Maria das Graças, Villalpando, Salvador, Bernal, Claudio, Colón-Ramos, Uriyoán, and Tavares do Carmo, Maria das Graças
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TRANS fatty acids , *FAT content of food , *UNSATURATED fatty acids , *FOOD industry , *FOOD supply , *COMPARATIVE studies , *FOOD chemistry , *FOOD handling , *HEALTH planning , *RESEARCH methodology , *MEDICAL cooperation , *MEDICAL protocols , *NUTRITION policy , *RESEARCH , *RESEARCH funding , *STATISTICS , *SURVEYS , *URBAN health , *EVALUATION research , *STANDARDS - Abstract
Objective: To assess progress towards the elimination of trans-fatty acids (TFA) in foods after the 2008 Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) recommendation of virtual elimination of TFA in Latin America.Design: A descriptive, comparative analysis of foods that were likely to contain TFA and were commonly consumed in four cities in Latin America.Setting: San José (Costa Rica), Mexico City (Mexico), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Buenos Aires (Argentina).Subjects: Foods from each city were sampled in 2011; TFA content was analysed using GC. TFA of selected foods was also monitored in 2016.Results: In 2011-2016, there was a significant decrease in the content of TFA in the sampled foods across all sites, particularly in Buenos Aires (from 12·6-34·8 % range in 2011-2012 to nearly 0 % in 2015-2016). All sample products met the recommended levels of TFA content set by the PAHO. TFA were replaced with a mixture of saturated and unsaturated fats.Conclusions: Our results indicate a virtual elimination of TFA from major food sources in the cities studied. This could be due to a combination of factors, including recommendations by national and global public health authorities, voluntary and/or mandatory food reformulation made by the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2017
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