UAE Targets Trans Fats Elimination and Salt Cuts

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced it aims to reduce average salt intake by 30% and eliminate industrial trans fats from the food supply by 2030, GulfNews reports.

The operational plan of the UAE’s National Nutrition Strategy for 2022-2030 aims to cut high rates of cardiovascular diseases and obesity among adults and malnutrition among children. Improving breastfeeding rates, and reducing prevalence of stunting and wasting among kids below five are also covered under the strategy.

The plan aims to strictly control advertisements of unhealthy foods targeting children and unify the nutrition guidelines in school canteens across the country.

The UAE government is working with the WHO to reevaluate the advertising of unhealthy foods to children.

“We have worked on different specifications, like the specification to reduce the salt in bread,” said Nouf Khamis Al Ali, director of the Health Promotion Department at the Ministry of Health and Prevention. “We have worked on the traffic light label specification, the specification on the reduction of trans fats and a lot of other specifications, and we will continue the work.”