The United Nations’ health agency plans to help countries remove artificial trans fats from their food supplies over the next five years. It estimates that these hydrogenated vegetable oils increase cholesterol levels leading to a greater risk for heart disease and the deaths of more than half a million people every year.
This southern fried chicken was made in New York in 2006 with soy bean oil, a good substitute for trans fats. (Dima Gavrysh/AP Photo/file)
Canada bans trans fats in September 2018
Trans fats were created to improve the shelf life of pastries, cookies, cakes and deep-fried foods and became popular in the 1950s. Canada will ban them as of September 2018 and many other countries are taking steps to eliminate the substance. They include Denmark, Switzerland, Britain and the United States.
The World Health Organization in the past has acted to eliminate infectious diseases. Now it wants to rid the world of a hazard linked to chronic illness. It is now pressing middle and lower-income countries to act to eliminate trans fats.
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