Workshop on Regulatory Mechanisms to Eliminate Industrially Produced Trans-Fatty Acids from the Food Supply in the Region of the Americas. Mexico City, 17-18 July 2019

Abstract

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) organized and implemented a two-day Regional workshop on regulatory mechanisms to eliminate industrially produced trans-fatty acids from the food supply in the Region of the Americas to help countries identify key elements to include in policies to eliminate industrially produced trans-fatty acids (IP-TFA). The specific objectives of the workshop were to present a range of existing regulatory pathways to eliminate IP-TFAs and discuss their effectiveness, consider policy options for their elimination, and draft roadmaps to guide policy development. Government officials from Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, and Peru participated in the meeting. Other participants included representatives of the Brazilian Association of Nutrition (ASBRAN), CARICOM’s Regional Organization for Standards and Quality (CROSQ), the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), NCD Alliance, PAHO’s sub-regional offices, Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL, an initiative of Vital Strategies), and Salud Justa-Mexico, as well as the author of Peru’s Law 30021 on the elimination of IP-TFA in the country. The first day of the workshop provided the necessary technical information to design an IP-TFA elimination policy, while the second day focused on key elements of policy implementation, monitoring, and enforcement. Both days included technical presentations, discussions using the fishbowl conversation dynamic, participant presentations, plenary sessions, and development of roadmaps by government officials. Materials prepared for the workshop included: a pre-workshop assignment for government officials, discussion questions for the fishbowl exercise, and questions to guide roadmap exercises, related to policy design, implementation, monitoring, and enforcement.