How the Dutch Food Industry

mitigated trans fats

Effective approach by

Industry self-regulation

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13th Euro Fed Lipid Congress, 2015

Dr. Gerhard de Ruiter

MVO: Board Member Health & Nutrition

Sime Darby: Head of R&D Innovation Centres

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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

TFA – Trans Fatty Acids – Trans fats

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2 types of trans fats

Ruminant : natural biohydrogenation in ruminants (sheep, cattle)

Industrial : partial hydrogenation of edible oils

Cis-unsaturated

oleic acid; cis9-C18:1Trans-unsaturated

elaidic acid; trans 9-C18:1

Carbon

Hydrogen

OxygenGlycerol

Natural differences of Fatty Acid

composition of edible fats and oils

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0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Coconut oil Butter Ruminant fat Palm oil Sunflower oil Rapeseed oil

Fatty Acid Composition

TFA SAFA MUFA PUFA

%

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’

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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

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Participants Observers

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

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Decline in Total TFA intake in the Netherlands

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Source: Dutch National Food Consumption Surveys, collected by the Government

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

1988 1998 2003 2010

Median intake of Total TFA in the Netherlands

Ruminant Industrial Total TFA

> 95% of dutch people

meet the guidelines

% energy intake

< 1 %

Sources of TFA intake

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Source: Dutch National Food Consumption Survey 2003/2010, collected by the Government

Dairy and dairy

products19%

Meat and meat

products10%

Cookies, Confectionary

18%

Grains and grain products

25%

Fats13%

Miscellaneous 15%

2003

Dairy and dairy

products34%

Meat and meat products

15%

Cakes16%

Fats18%

Miscellaneous17%

2010

Intake 2003-2010 declined from 1 to 0.5 energy% most of the intake now comes from ruminant fats

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

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Task Force Results: TFA reduction

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Source: Oomen, 2010

0

5

10

15

20

bakery raw materials industrial bakeryproducts

potato products vegetable oils and fatsused as frying fat or

snackingredient

Reduction of total TFA content in products in % of fat

2003 2009

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.’

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Source: Temme et al, 2011

TFA intake below recommended levels

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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

Reduction of TFA intake in Europe

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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

Source: Wesdorp, Melnikov and Gaudier, 2014

‘Industrial TFA in West-European countries is

no longer a public health concern’

Together strong

We are looking forward to a close

cooperation with our members, partners and

external stakeholders.

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