Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Mar 18;17(6):1057.
doi: 10.3390/nu17061057.

Assessment of the Presence of Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs) as a Source of Industrially Produced Trans Fatty Acids (i-TFAs) in Packaged Foods in Poland, Pre- and Post-Implementation of EU Regulation 2019/649

Edyta Jasińska-Melon  1 , Hanna Mojska  1 , Bogumiła Krygier  1 , Sławomir Garboś  1
Affiliations

Assessment of the Presence of Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs) as a Source of Industrially Produced Trans Fatty Acids (i-TFAs) in Packaged Foods in Poland, Pre- and Post-Implementation of EU Regulation 2019/649

Edyta Jasińska-Melon et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Trans fatty acids (TFAs) are risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. TFAs are classified as natural (r-TFAs) or industrially produced (i-TFAs). The primary source of i-TFAs is partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs). The European Union implemented Commission Regulation 2019/649, setting a limit of i-TFAs in food. The World Health Organization (WHO) has emphasised the need to completely eliminate PHOs from global food supplies. This study aimed to assess the content of PHOs in food, based on the declared ingredient composition on product labelling, pre- and post-implementation of Regulation 2019/649. The types of fats used as PHOs substitutes were also assessed. Methods: The study material consisted of product labels produced before (n = 1224) and after (n = 779) the implementation of Regulation 2019/649. An analysis of the fats declared in the ingredient lists of these products was carried out, together with an evaluation of the PHOs substitutes used. Results: Before the entry into force of Regulation 2019/649, 6.9% of the 1224 products evaluated contained PHOs. After the implementation of the Regulation, PHOs were not listed on the label of any of the 779 products evaluated. Among the 84 products that contained PHOs before Regulation 2019/649 came into force, 36 were no longer available on the market. The remaining 48 used palm oil as the primary PHOs substitute. Conclusions: The introduction of legal limits for i-TFAs in foods appears to be an effective strategy for reducing the dietary intake of TFAs. The commonly used PHOs substitute is palm oil with significant amounts of saturated fatty acids.

Keywords: food; industrially produced trans fatty acids (i-TFAs); labelling; palm oil; partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Research scheme. PHOs: partially hydrogenated oils, TFA: trans fatty acids.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Aro A., Van Amelsvoort J., Becker W., van Erp-Baart M.-A., Kafatos A., Leth T., van Poppel G. Trans Fatty Acids in Dietary Fats and Oils from 14 European Countries: The TRANSFAIR Study. J. Food Compos. Anal. 1998;11:137–149. doi: 10.1006/jfca.1998.0569. - DOI
    1. Aro A., Amaral E., Kesteloot H., Rimestad A., Thamm M., van Poppel G. Trans Fatty Acids in French Fries, Soups, and Snacks from 14 European Countries: The TRANSFAIR Study. J. Food Compos. Anal. 1998;11:170–177. doi: 10.1006/jfca.1998.0572. - DOI
    1. van Erp-baart M.A., Couet C., Cuadrado C., Kafatos A., Stanley J., van Poppel G. TransFatty Acids in Bakery Products from 14 European Countries:the TRANSFAIR Study. J. Food Compos. Anal. 1998;11:167–169. doi: 10.1006/jfca.1998.0571. - DOI
    1. Ulberth F., Wenzl T. Analytical Approach for Checking the Compliance of Fats and Oils Against the Regulated Limit for Industrial Trans Fatty Acids (Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/649) EUR 30767 EN, JRC125335. Publications Office of the European Union; Luxembourg: 2021. - DOI
    1. Johnston P.V., Johnson O.C., Kummerow F.A. Occurrence of trans fatty acids in human tissue. Science. 1957;126:698–699. doi: 10.1126/science.126.3276.698.b. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources