[Intake of trans fats; situation in Spain]

Current nutritional recommendations include decreasing the intake of trans fatty acids (TFA), since there exists sufficient scientific evidence of its influence to cardiovascular disease. During the last decades, in many European countries the TFA intake has considerably decreased through the established legislation and changes in the technological processes developed by the food industry. In Spain, just 2.1 g/day, a 0.7% of the daily energy intake comes from TFA, a lower value than the recommended maximum (<1%), according to data from TRANSFAIR study. The TFA content of processed products such as margarines, factory-baked goods and etc, has declined over recent years and is less than 1% in more than 90% of all these products in Spain. However, it is necessary to develop and implement regulations, governing the TFA content in the products sold in our country, in which there should be the requirement to include this information in the label too.