In March 2025, with support from Resolve to Save Lives and a coalition of local partners, Pakistan achieved a critical public health victory: The Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority moved to protect more than 240 million people from toxic artificial trans fat in their food—a leading contributor to premature death from heart attacks and strokes—with a new, best-practice national ban.
Pakistan is the 64th country to ban this harmful and replaceable food additive in a growing global movement to eliminate industrially-produced trans fat from the food supply.
The journey to achieving a comprehensive trans fat regulation in Pakistan was marked by persistence and incremental progress. Starting in June 2023 with standards covering just six food categories, the standard was expanded significantly in September 2024 to 58 categories through a collective effort by government, civil society, think tanks and policy makers. RTSL joined with local partners—including CPDI, PYCA, and Heartfile—to raise awareness about the topic with policymakers, mobilize communities and leverage the media to raise attention around a stronger trans fat regulation. We worked with regulatory authorities and policymakers at the national and provincial levels to ensure that the new regulations were comprehensive, covering all food products.
Pakistan’s success is unique in that young people, who make up approximately 64% of the country, played a significant role in the policy’s passage, raising awareness through podcasts, op-eds, social media engagement, and the “Transform Pakistan” youth coalition.
Learn more about this incredible achievement bringing us all closer to a trans fat free world.