Food, nutrition and health professionals are being invited to give their feedback on two new draft reports on guidelines for intake of dietary saturated fat.
The first is from the World Health Organisation, which also covers trans fats, found in several highly processed foods.
The draft WHO Guidelines: Saturated fatty acid and trans-fatty intake for adults and children can be accessed at: http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/sfa-tfa-public-consultation-4may2018/en/
The online public consultation is open from 4 May to 1 June 2018.
WHO states that the objective of the guidelines is to provide recommendations on the intake of saturated fatty acids and trans-fatty acids, in order to reduce the risk of chronic diseases in in adults and children (aged 9-19 years), particularly cardiovascular disease. The draft report proposes adults and children with a saturated fatty acid intake greater than 10% of total energy intake should reduce their intake to at least that value. For trans fats, the recommendation is that adults and children with a trans-fatty acid intake greater than 1% of total energy intake should aim to reduce intake to at least that value.
The second is from the UK Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition. Their draft report on saturated fats and health can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/sacn-publishes-consultation-on-saturated-fats-and-health The online public consultation is open from 8 May to 1 June 2018.
Based on the evidence considered, the draft report recommended that the dietary reference value for saturated fats remains unchanged, i.e. that the population average contribution of saturated fatty acids to total dietary energy be reduced to no more than 10% for adults and children over the age of 5 years old. The report suggests that saturated fats are substituted with either polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats. The former can be found in foods such as salmon, vegetable oils, some nuts and seeds, and the latter can be found in olive oil, avocados and nuts.