Background
The WHO Trans Fat Elimination Technical Advisory Group (TFATAG) is the principal advisory group to the World Health Organization (WHO) that makes recommendations to WHO on the granting of the WHO Validation certificate, a recognition that countries can receive for having best-practice trans fat elimination policies and monitoring and enforcements systems in place.
Consumption of trans-fatty acids (TFA) is associated with coronary heart disease and related mortality. In 2018, WHO set the elimination of industrially produced TFA as a priority target to be achieved by 2023 as part of the targets for its 13th General Programme of Work and released the REPLACE action framework for TFA elimination as a roadmap for country actions. Subsequently WHO issued six REPLACE modules in 2019 to provide practical, step-by-step implementation guidance to Member States to eliminate industrially produced TFA from their national food supplies and to replace them with healthier oils and fats.
Health benefits of TFA elimination policies will only be attained when policies are effectively and sustainably implemented and industrially produced TFA is eliminated from national food supplies. A process to evaluate and validate the status of Member States in their efforts to eliminate industrially produced TFA is therefore essential to establishing accountability and accelerating progress.
The WHO Validation Programme for Trans Fat Elimination will recognize Member States having a normative framework in place to eliminate industrially produced TFA from national food supplies by granting them a WHO Validation certificate of Trans Fat Elimination. Against this background, WHO established the TFATAG with a view to ensuring independence, scientific rigor and transparency in making judgment as to the granting of the WHO Validation certificate.
Functions of the TFATAG
- to review and evaluate the applications submitted by Member States for the granting of the WHO Validation certificate, including any supporting documentation; and
- to provide recommendations to WHO on whether to grant the WHO Validation certificate to applicant Member States.
Members
Professor, National Nutrition Institute, Food Safety Department, Egypt
Head of Department of Health Sciences, Professor Vrije Universiteit, Netherlands
Director, Nutrition Policy and Surveillance, Cardiovascular Health Initiative, Resolve to Save Lives, United States
Director, Healthy Food Department, Saudi Food & Drug Authority, Saudi Arabia
Associate Researcher, Researcher Applied Nutrition Division, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, China
Executive Director , Centre for Health Science and Law, Ottawa, Canada
Head, NIHR BRC Core Metabolomics and Lipidomics Laboratory, NIHR BRC Nutritional Biomarker Laboratory, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Senior Principal Scientist, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, India
Department Chair, Senior Lecturer, Department of Physiology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences; Research Officer, East African Centre of Excellence in Cardiovascular Sciences, Tanzania
Former Chief Scientist & Head, Centre for Lipid Research, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, India
Consultant Community Physician, Food Safety Unit, Ministry of Health Sri Lanka
President, MXG Strategies; Adjunct Faculty, American University, United States
Publications
