In the third quarter of 2017, the Commission is expected to propose to regulate industrial trans fatty acids (TFA) to limit the intake of these by EU consumers, according to the roadmap published by the European institution on 11 October 2016. This initiative is expected to take the form of a Commission regulation.
Trans fatty acids are unsaturated fatty acids present in dairy products, meat and industrially produced vegetable oils; they can lead to coronary heart disease, which is responsible for nearly 660,000 deaths in the EU every year.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommends that consumers' intake of TFA be as low as possible as part of a healthy balanced diet.
In a report submitted in December 2015 on the legislative or non-legislative options under consideration, the European Commission recognised that it would be useful to lay down ceiling values, to the great satisfaction of the European Consumers' Bureau (BEUC), which has been calling for thresholds for years (see EUROPE 11445).
The Commission has announced that it plans to launch a public consultation to prepare for an impact assessment of its future initiative, which will pay particular attention to the agri-food industry and, more specifically, SMEs, in order to limit any negative impacts of the future regulation.
Article 30 (7) of EU Regulation 1169/2011 regarding consumer information on foodstuffs requires the Commission to report to the Parliament and Council on the presence of TFA in foods and in the overall diet of the EU population.
As their aim is to stem the health plague of TFA, the MEPs of the committee on the environment of the European Parliament recently called upon the Commission immediately to propose binding legal upper limits to reduce intake of these harmful substances across all sections of the population (see EUROPE 11636). It will be the turn of the European Parliament to take position on the subject at its forthcoming plenary session (from 24 to 27 October). The Commission's roadmap is available online at: http://ec.europa.eu/smart-regulation/roadmaps/docs/2016_sante_143_trans_fats_en.pdf . (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)