WHO launched REPLACE to eliminate trans-fat by 2023

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a comprehensive plan to eliminate industrially-produced artificial trans-fats from the global food supply by 2023.

• REPLACE will provide guidance for all countries on how to remove artificial trans-fats from their foods so as to eradicate it worldwide.
• REPLACE stands for review dietary sources, promote use of healthier fats, legislate, assess changes, create awareness and enforce.
• Artificial trans-fats, or trans-fatty acids, are made when vegetable oil hardens. This process is called hydrogenation.
• Those hydrogenated fats can be used in fried foods, snack foods or baked goods.
• They are often used by the manufacturers as they have a longer shelf life than other fats.
• They have some harmful health effects as they don’t spoil as quickly as other fats.
• They lead to raising levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol and increasing risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.
• In South Asian countries, they have a very high risk of heart disease.
• Several high-income countries are already trying to eliminate trans-fat from their foods through laws limiting the amount that can be included in packaged food.

Expected Questions

Question 1. Which initiative has been launched by WHO to eliminate trans-fat in foods?
REPLACE

Question 2. Where are the Headquarters of WHO located?
Geneva, Switzerland

Question 3. Which was the 1st country to mandate restrictions on industrially-produced trans-fats?
Denmark

Question 4. In which year was the WHO established?
1948

Question 5. Who is the Director General of WHO?
Tedros Adhanom