Trans fatty acids in food: A review on dietary intake, health impact, regulations and alternatives

Abstract

Trans fats are desired by the edible oil industry as they impart firmness, plasticity, and oxidative stability to oil. However, clinical trials have demonstrated the adverse effects of trans fats in food on human health and nutrition. Regulatory actions have been taken up by government and non‐government bodies worldwide to eliminate the presence of trans fats in the food supply. The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a “REPLACE” action plan to eliminate trans‐fat from the global food industry by 2023. A few enabling technologies are developed to mitigate trans fats namely, trait‐enhanced oils, modification in the hydrogenation process, interesterification, fractionation, blending, and oleogelation. Some of them have the drawback of replacing trans‐fat with saturated fats. Interesterification and oleogelation are in‐trend techniques with excellent potential in replacing trans fats without compromising the desired functionality and nutritional quality attributes. This review presents an overview of trans fatty acid for example, its dietary intake in food products, possible adverse health impact, regulations, and approaches to reduce the usage of trans fats for food application. Practical Application The requirement for the replacement of trans fatty acids (TFAs) in food supply globally has challenged the food industry to find a novel substitute for trans fats without compromising the desired functionality and nutritional property. This review presents detailed background on trans fats, their health impacts and current trends of reformulation of oils and fats to mitigate their presence in food supply chains. Information compiled in this paper will help food scientists and technologists, chemists, food processors, and retailers as there is an urgent need to find novel technologies and substitutes to replace trans fats in processed foods.

A depth‐insight on reduced lipolysis of diacylglycerol (DAG) oleogels with the gelation of diosgenin (DSG)

“…With the growing awareness of health and the emergence of sub‐health, more and more attention has been paid to the daily diet, especially solid fat consumption (containing high‐saturated or trans fatty acids) (Nagpal et al ., 2021). Recent discoveries and facts have revealed a strong correlation between the over‐consumption of solid fats and cardiovascular diseases (Hoenselaar, 2012).…”

Quality of dietary fat and risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in adults aged ≥50 years: a systematic review

“…An additional challenge is the dietary assessment, which is usually done once at baseline, and the long-term follow-up, which does not allow us to adjust for any dietary changes that may occur. This is especially important in the case of TFA, as the intake has declined substantially due to changes of processing in the food industry ( 39 ). In future studies, great effort is required in disentangling the effect of confounding factors on the observed associations.…”

Amelioration of nutritional properties of bakery fat using omega‐3 fatty acid‐rich edible oils: a review

“…5 However, the traditionally used bakery fats are high in SFAs and also contain TFAs, which have harmful implications on consumers' health, with a significant impact on cardiovascular ailments that are among the most common disorders affecting humankind in several forms like arrhythmia, hypertension, thrombosis and arteriosclerosis. 6,7 Thus, in order to mitigate the mortality rate caused by CVD, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched an initiative named 'REPLACE' to eliminate TFAs globally. The WHO's recommendations relating to fat content concerning saturated, trans and total intake are considered for several reformulation initiatives.…”

“…They tend to determine final products' texture, structural wholeness, aeration, lubrication, tenderness, mouthfeel and shelf‐life 5 . However, the traditionally used bakery fats are high in SFAs and also contain TFAs, which have harmful implications on consumers' health, with a significant impact on cardiovascular ailments that are among the most common disorders affecting humankind in several forms like arrhythmia, hypertension, thrombosis and arteriosclerosis 6,7 . Thus, in order to mitigate the mortality rate caused by CVD, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched an initiative named ‘REPLACE’ to eliminate TFAs globally.…”