The US Food and Drug Administration has ordered a halt on the production of trans‐unsaturated fatty acids. Its justification is that hydrogenated vegetable fats are bad for consumer health: they raise levels of bad cholesterol and reduce the concentration of good cholesterol, increase the risk of a number of serious cardiovascular diseases (cardiac arrest and circulatory failure), can lead to type 2 diabetes and may even increase the risk of cancer.

A ban on these fats could decrease the number of deaths caused by heart attack or other cardiovascular diseases, and could also lower rates of type 2 diabetes.

In light of the above, is the Commission considering the feasibility of introducing a ban on the use of trans-unsaturated fatty acids in the EU on health grounds, as has already been done in Denmark, for example?