About one-third of companies that changed their recipes switched to healthier plant oils like sunflower or canola oil instead of palm oil.

Scientific Claim

In Poland, after the implementation of EU Regulation 2019/649, 33.3% of reformulated products replaced PHOs with non-tropical vegetable oils (e.g., sunflower or rapeseed oil), suggesting a subset of manufacturers adopted nutritionally preferable alternatives.

Original Statement

“A positive development was the replacement of PHOs with vegetable oils other than tropical oils, such as sunflower or rapeseed oil. However, this only applied to 33.3% of products.”

From study:Assessment of the Presence of Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs) as a Source of Industrially Produced Trans Fatty Acids (i-TFAs) in Packaged Foods in Poland, Pre- and Post-Implementation of EU Regulation 2019/649

Evidence Quality Assessment

Claim Status

appropriately stated

Study Design Support

Design supports claim

Appropriate Language Strength

definitive

Can make definitive causal claims

Assessment Explanation

The claim reports a precise percentage from observed reformulation data. No causal or evaluative language is used beyond what the data show.

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (0)

No supporting evidence found

Contradicting (1)

Assessment of the Presence of Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs) as a Source of Industrially Produced Trans Fatty Acids (i-TFAs) in Packaged Foods in Poland, Pre- and Post-Implementation of EU Regulation 2019/649

Cross-Sectional Study

2025 Mar 18

The study found that companies in Poland mostly replaced the bad oils with palm oil, not healthier options like sunflower or rapeseed oil — so the claim that they chose better oils is wrong.

Source Study

Assessment of the Presence of Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs) as a Source of Industrially Produced Trans Fatty Acids (i-TFAs) in Packaged Foods in Poland, Pre- and Post-Implementation of EU Regulation 2019/649

Score: 36

DOI: 10.3390/nu17061057

Similar Assertions

Before a new law took effect, about 7 out of every 100 packaged foods in Poland had a type of oil called partially hydrogenated oil, mostly in things like soups, bread, and candy.

81%

After the law changed, not a single packaged food product in Poland had the harmful oil called partially hydrogenated oil on its label anymore.

81%

When companies stopped using the bad oil (PHOs), more than half of them switched to palm oil — which is high in saturated fat, another type of fat linked to heart disease.

75%

The oil that replaced the bad trans fat (palm oil) is mostly saturated fat — which is also bad for your heart — so swapping one bad fat for another might not help much.

74%

Even after removing the bad oil, nearly 4 out of 10 packaged foods still contained palm oil — which is also high in saturated fat — meaning the overall fat profile didn't get much healthier.

73%