Industrially produced trans fatty acids are cheap, invisible on a label, and quietly raise heart disease risk. We are pushing for a national limit that matches WHO best practice.
A national limit of two grams of industrially produced trans fat per hundred grams of total fat, matching WHO best practice.
Sampling of commonly consumed fats, oils and baked goods to establish what is actually in the Ugandan food supply.
The relevant national standards are being reviewed by the technical committee. This is the step that determines whether a regulation has anything to point at.
We are hereDrafting of the instrument, including the enforcement and testing regime.
Industry, consumer and health stakeholder validation before submission.
Gazettement and the start of the compliance window.
Industrially produced trans fatty acids do one useful thing: they make cheap fat last longer on a shelf. They also raise the risk of heart disease more reliably than almost anything else in the food supply, and you cannot taste them.
The WHO best practice threshold is two grams per hundred grams of total fat. Fifty three countries now have a rule that meets it. Uganda does not.
We are working with the Uganda National Bureau of Standards and the Ministry of Health on a national limit, starting with the standards review that has to happen before any regulation can bite.
Getting a plain warning onto the front of every ultra processed pack sold in Uganda, so a shopper knows what is inside before it reaches the pot.
Where it stands Nutrient Profile Model signed February 2026
The first law of its kind in East Africa. It would protect indigenous seed, curb agrochemicals and make agroecology the region's default rather than its exception.
Where it stands Tabled before the EALA ATNR Committee May 2026