Progress towards elimination of trans-fatty acids in foods commonly consumed in four Latin American cities.

<bold>Objective: </bold>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.<bold>Design: </bold>A descriptive, comparative analysis of foods that were likely to contain TFA and were commonly consumed in four cities in Latin America.<bold>Setting: </bold>San José (Costa Rica), Mexico City (Mexico), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Buenos Aires (Argentina).<bold>Subjects: </bold>Foods from each city were sampled in 2011; TFA content was analysed using GC. TFA of selected foods was also monitored in 2016.<bold>Results: </bold>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.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>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]