No evidence on negative health from dairy TFA

Posted 14 February, 2008
Share on LinkedIn

At a policy conference organised by the European Dairy Association (EDA), international scientists concluded that there is no scientific evidence on negative health effects from dairy trans fatty acids (TFA).

EDA stated therefore, in the presence of more than 60 political and scientific stakeholders, that dairy TFA has no nutritional relevance and should not be taken into consideration for labelling or nutrient profiling for claims.
The main conclusions were that TFA from milk fat are different from industrially produced TFA on cardiovascular risk factors in humans and that there is no evidence that ruminant TFA have a negative effect on human health.
When presenting the results of a recent observational study on intake of ruminant TFA and the related risk of coronary heart disease, Marianne Uhre Jakobsen from the Aarhus University Hospital found that intake of ruminant TFA is not associated
with a higher risk of coronary heart disease, and that a high intake of ruminant TFA from dairy and meat products may be of no concern for public health.
Finally, Theo Ockhuizen, chairman of EDA’s Nutrition Working Group, stated that milk and dairy products should be promoted for their significant contribution to the nutrient supply such as, high quality protein and several key minerals and vitamins.

Topics

Read more