Trans fatty acid fact sheet

Overview

This fact sheet highlights the results from a ground-breaking WHO study on the dietary sources of trans-fatty acids in Indonesia’s food supply. This launch aims to support the issuance of government regulations to eliminate trans fats.

The baseline study involved laboratory testing of 130 products across four food categories: oils and fats, margarines and spreads, packaged foods made with fats (such as biscuits, cookies, wafers, cakes and bread) and prepared foods such as fried noodles, fried rice, fried chicken, potato fries and bakery items. Almost 10% of the products surveyed or around 11 foods contained trans fat levels exceeding these recommendations. High levels of trans fats are also found in popular and widely consumed snack products, such as biscuits, wafers, bakery products and street snacks such as martabak. The highest concentration of trans fats is found in a mixture of margarine and butter, which is 10 times higher than the WHO recommended limit.

This fact sheet is bilingual in English and Indonesian languages.