How the Dutch Food Industry mitigated trans fats Effective approach by Industry self-regulation 13th Euro Fed Lipid Congress, 2015 Dr. Gerhard de Ruiter MVO: Board Member Health & Nutrition Sime Darby: Head of R&D Innovation Centres 1
The Netherlands Oils and Fats Industry Represent 98% of total Oils and Fats production Mission: a sustainable and internationally competitive supply chain. Our Priorities pre-competitive chain issues Food and Feed Safety Sustainable Development Nutrition and Health Trade Policy Scientific Advisory Committee www.mvo.nl 2
TFA Trans Fatty Acids Trans fats Carbon Glycerol Hydrogen Oxygen Cis-unsaturated oleic acid; cis9-c18:1 Trans-unsaturated elaidic acid; trans 9-C18:1 2 types of trans fats Ruminant : natural biohydrogenation in ruminants (sheep, cattle) Industrial : partial hydrogenation of edible oils 3
Natural differences of Fatty Acid composition of edible fats and oils % 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Fatty Acid Composition Coconut oil Butter Ruminant fat Palm oil Sunflower oil Rapeseed oil TFA SAFA MUFA PUFA 4
Trans fats and Health Adverse effect on blood lipids, incl. increasing LDL and lowering HDL Adverse relationship with Total Coronary Heart Disease risk The available evidence is insufficient to establish whether there is a difference between ruminant and industrial trans fatty acids consumed in equivalent amounts on the risk of coronary heart disease. References: Meta-analyses on Randomised Controlled Trials: Mensink et al., 2003; Mozzafarian et al., 2009; Brouwer et al., 2013 Meta-analyses on Prospective Cohort Studies: Mozaffarian et al., 2006; Booker and Mann, 2008; Bendsen et al., 2011; De Souza et al., 2015. EFSA Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for fats, 2010 WHO policy brief September 2015 Eliminating trans fats in Europe 5
Self-regulation by the Dutch Food Industry Task Force Improvement Fatty Acid Composition Ambition: to reduce TFA intake whilst maintaining product quality and without increasing SAFA Active: 2003 2010 Defined actions and yearly monitoring Members represent 80% of the food industry that uses oils and fats Participants Observers 6
Self-regulation in Practice Task Force actions: Commitment food product categories Platform Stimulate sector specific innovations Codes of Practice Information & Promotional Campaigns Education both B-2-B and B-2-C Yearly Monitoring - transparent 7
Decline in Total TFA intake in the Netherlands % energy intake < 1 % 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Median intake of Total TFA in the Netherlands 1988 1998 2003 2010 Ruminant Industrial Total TFA > 95% of dutch people meet the guidelines Source: Dutch National Food Consumption Surveys, collected by the Government 8
Sources of TFA intake Intake 2003-2010 declined from 1 to 0.5 energy% most of the intake now comes from ruminant fats Miscellaneous 15% 2003 Dairy and dairy products 19% Miscellaneous 17% 2010 Dairy and dairy products 34% Fats 13% Meat and meat products 10% Fats 18% Cakes 16% Meat and meat products 15% Grains and grain products 25% Cookies, Confectionary 18% Source: Dutch National Food Consumption Survey 2003/2010, collected by the Government 9
Technical Replacement of TFA For ALL food applications alternative non-trans vegetable fat formulations are developed by the industry with the required functionality Palm fruit oils and fractions thereof High oleic canola and sunflower oils Hardstocks for margarines made by natural enzymes Blends of fully hydrogenated oils and vegetable oils 10
20 Task Force Results: TFA reduction Reduction of total TFA content in products in % of fat 15 10 5 0 bakery raw materials industrial bakery products potato products vegetable oils and fats used as frying fat or snackingredient 2003 2009 Source: Oomen, 2010 11
Task Force Results A significant decrease of median TFA intake Highest contribution in TFA reduction by: Retail margarines, frying and cooking fats Meatsnacks and salads Pastry/cakes Biscuits Industrial TFA within branches represented in the Task Force are no longer the major source of TFA. Source: Temme et al, 2011 12
TFA intake below recommended levels The Dutch Industry took its responsibility By self-regulation: TFA intake reduced from 4.5 E% to 0.5 E% TFA intake the Netherlands: more than half from ruminant origin MVO view: Promote a European level playing field Legislation might help achieving this Legislation makes the current mandatory labeling of (partial) hydrogenation (FIC rules) unnecessary and even misleading Trans Fat Issue in the Netherlands effectively mitigated: no longer a public health concern 13
Reduction of TFA intake in Europe EFSA (2004), FAO (2008): TFA reduction mainly due to reformulation of food products WHO policy brief (2015): advocates legislation for limiting the amount of TFA in ALL products many East European countries are not ready reducing TFA intake Europe at the forefront of TFA reduction TFA intake most West-European countries: below recommended 1 E% TFA intake Western-Europe: more than half from ruminant origin Industrial TFA in West-European countries is no longer a public health concern Source: Wesdorp, Melnikov and Gaudier, 2014 14
Together strong We are looking forward to a close cooperation with our members, partners and external stakeholders. 15