Open AccessScientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for fats, including saturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, and cholesterol
Author(s) -
Efsa Publication
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
efsa journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.076
H-Index - 97
ISSN - 1831-4732
DOI - 10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1461
Subject(s) - polyunsaturated fatty acid , docosahexaenoic acid , eicosapentaenoic acid , food science , fatty acid , arachidonic acid , chemistry , linolenic acid , dietary reference intake , saturated fatty acid , saturated fat , cholesterol , biochemistry , nutrient , linoleic acid , organic chemistry , enzyme
This Opinion of the EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition, and Allergies (NDA) deals with the setting of Dietary Reference Values (DRVs) for fats. A lower bound of the reference intake range for total fat of 20 energy % (E%) and an upper bound of 35 E% are proposed. Fat intake in infants can gradually be reduced from 40 E% in the 6 12 month period to 35–40 E% in the 2nd and 3rd year of life. For specific fatty acids the following is proposed: saturated fatty acid (SFA) and trans fatty acid intake should be as low as possible; not to set any DRV for cis ‐monounsaturated fatty acids; not to formulate a DRV for the intake of total cis ‐polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA); not to set specific values for the n‐3/n‐6 ratio; to set an Adequate Intake (AI) of 4 E% for linolenic acid; not to set any DRV for arachidonic acid; not to set an UL for total or any of the n 6 PUFA; to set an AI for alpha‐linilenic acid (ALA) of 0.5 E% not to set an UL for ALA; to set an AI of 250 mg for eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) plus docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for adults; to set an AI of 100 mg DHA for infants (>6 months) and young children <24 months; to increase by 100 200 mg preformed DHA in addition to the AI for adults as an adequate supply of n‐3 long chain PUFA during pregnancy and lactation; not to set any DRV for conjugated linoleic acid. For cholesterol it was decided not to propose a reference value beside the limitation on the intake of SFA.