Trans-fat labelling and potential presence of industrially produced trans-fat in the New Zealand packaged food supply: 2015-2019 & 2022.

Background and aim: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that countries reduce industrially produced TFA (iTFA) in the food supply. However, New Zealand (NZ) has no mandatory regulation to control amounts of iTFA in foods. The objectives of this study were to assess within the NZ packaged food supply in recent years (2015-19 and 2022): i) the availability of products displaying information on TFA content on nutrition information panels (NIPs), ii) the content of TFA declared, and iii) the presence/potential presence of iTFA (n = 85,892 products).

Methods and results: A database of packaged foods from major NZ supermarkets was used. TFA contents declared on NIPs were benchmarked against limits recommended by the WHO and the Canadian Trans Fat Task Force. Proportions of products listing specific ingredients (containing iTFA) or non-specific ingredients (potentially containing iTFA) were examined. Trends in proportions were assessed (Mantel-Haenszel tests). Among all products and years examined (n = 81,591), 84.0 % did not display information on TFA content. Across all products declaring TFA contents and years 15.4 % and 6.4 %, respectively, were above the WHO and Canadian TFA limits. Across all products and years, 0.8 % and 13.6 % listed ingredients that contained or potentially contained iTFA, respectively. Across 2015-2019, there was a trend of decrease in the proportions of products listing specific (0.9 %-0.7 %; P = 0.018) and non-specific ingredients (15.1 %-12.8 %; P < 0.001).

Conclusion: Information on the TFA content and ingredients containing iTFA in NZ packaged foods is lacking and ambiguous and government-led interventions to control and reduce TFA in the food supply are warranted.