Abstract
To determine Industrially-Produced Trans fatty acids (IP-TFAs) distribution of Lebanese traditional foods, especially regarding Elaidic acid (EA; 9t18:1) and Linolelaidic acid (LEA; 9t12t18:2), a mapping exercise was enrolled between January 2019 and April 2021 in which 145 food samples of three categories (traditional dishes, Arabic sweets, and market food products) were analyzed using Gas chromatography methods. Results showed that about 93% of the products tested in Lebanon, between 2019 and 2021, met the World Health Organization recommendations, while about 7% exceeded the limit. The mean level of the IP-TFAs Elaidic and Linolelaidic acid in most Traditional dishes (0.9%), Arabic sweets (0.6%), butter and margarine (1.6%), and market foods (0.52%) were relatively low compared with other countries. Despite that, the relative impact of IP-TFAs on heart diseases mortality in Lebanon is limited but unambiguously still substantial. The persistence of food products with high IP-TFAs levels threatens the health of Lebanese people. Fortunately, this problem is fairly easy to solve in Lebanon via proper legislation.
Highlights
The intake of Industrially-produced-Trans fatty acids (IP-TFAs) is associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and death from coronary heart disease (CHD) [1]
The mean levels of total IP-TFAs in the tested traditional dishes was equal to 0.9% ± 0.62 and ranged from less than 0.1 to
The comparison between the mean values of the IP-TFA (EA and Linolelaidic acid (LEA)) in the traditional dishes tested shows that Elaidic acid (EA) was significantly higher than LEA in all traditional dishes (p-value = 0.00)
Summary
The intake of Industrially-produced-Trans fatty acids (IP-TFAs) is associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and death from coronary heart disease (CHD) [1]. Absolute increase in energy intake from IP-TFAs has been associated with a 23% increase in cardiovascular risk [2]. In 2018, IP-TFAs elimination was identified as one of the priority targets in the World Health Organization (WHO) 13th General Programme of Work, which guides the five-year work of WHO in 2019–2023 [3]. In 2018, the REPLACE action package was launched to help countries removing IP-TFAs from their food supplies [4]. In 2020, WHO established an indicator that records whether countries have adopted WHO best-practice policies for eliminating IP-TFAs [5]. More than 100 countries have yet to act to eliminate TFAs from their national food supply and make the world TFAs free by 2023 [3].
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