As of Jan. 1, 2024, every Cargill food customer, no matter where they are in the world, can be confident that the company’s fats and oils comply with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended maximum tolerance level for industrially produced trans-fatty acids (iTFA) in fats and oils.
Cargill has achieved this milestone by becoming the first global supplier whose entire worldwide edible oils portfolio meets the WHO’s best practice standard on iTFAs, limiting iTFA content to no more than two grams per 100 grams of fats/oils, including in countries where there is currently no legislative mandate.
While Cargill announced its commitment to removing iTFAs from its fats and oils portfolio in December 2021, the achievement reflects decades of work. The company’s iTFA journey spans more than a quarter century including early innovation, millions of dollars of investments in capital expenses and resources, and thousands of R&D hours. Along the way, Cargill has helped more than 400 customers create nutritious and tasty products that contribute to happier, healthier lives, removing more than 1.5 billion pounds of products containing iTFAs from the global food supply.
“We’re pleased to see Cargill’s continued commitment to reduce industrially produced trans fats in all their oils, recently achieving their goal to align with the World Health Organization’s recommended standards,” says René Lammers, PepsiCo’s chief science officer. “This move aligns with PepsiCo’s successful reduction of iTFAs in our foods to meet this same standard, and we encourage our fellow industry partners to join us in this important initiative to evolve our food and beverage portfolio to be better for the planet and people.” In the past two years alone, Cargill has invested an additional $8.5 million to upgrade facilities to reduce the amount of transfat produced during oil processing, while working closely with more than 100 additional customers in two dozen countries to reformulate new product solutions that meet their needs.
