Trans fats: FDA still has a ways to go in discouraging them
Ian McCarthy, Athens NEWS Special Projects Contributor
May 2, 2005
On Nov. 15, 2002, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed mandatory labeling of trans fats -- better known in foods' ingredients list as partially hydrogenated oil or shortening -- on the nutrition facts labels of all food products. The announcement included the unprecedented footnote, slated for the "%Daily Value" (%DV) column, stating, "Intake of trans fats should be as low as possible."
Normally, the FDA would not categorize products unfit for even a small amount of consumption as food. Partially hydrogenated oil has landed on the FDA's Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) list, along with hydrogen peroxide, antibiotics and several other unsavory components of processed food that rarely make the ingredients list. However, the FDA soon revoked the footnote and pushed the mandatory labeling back to January 2006.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson told reporters at a press conference in July 2003, "The less trans fat you and I eat, the healthier we will be." Nonetheless, the FDA released a statement, regarding the postponement of the labeling mandate, claiming that it wanted to allow food manufacturers "to use their current label inventories."
Trans fats have been linked to heart disease and Type 2 Diabetes and cause "tens of thousands of heart-attack deaths each year," according to TransFreeAmerica.org, a project of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). Nutritionists at Harvard have estimated yearly trans-fat-related deaths to be between 30,000 and 100,000. Trans fat increases the bad cholesterol that causes heart disease, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and decreases the good cholesterol that prevents heart disease, high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Trans fats also have been found to cause hardening and clogging of arteries, as well as insulin resistance.
Trans fat is created using an industrial process called hydrogenation. The hydrogenator heats and pressurizes the oil before introducing hydrogen gas and a catalyst to the oil, artificially saturating it with hydrogen atoms. This creates a fat that is far more difficult to digest and, likewise, that's far more resistant to spoilage (not to mention cheaper) than naturally saturated fats.
Food processors use it primarily for texture and "shelf stability," an industry buzzword meaning it will last several years on the grocery store shelf before rotting. Also, oils that are commonly used in the hydrogenation process, such as cottonseed oil, derive from plants that are not considered foods and therefore are subject to much higher levels of herbicides and other chemicals than plants that are considered foods.
On May 1, 2003, Stephen L. Joseph, founder and president of BanTransFats.com, sued Kraft/Nabisco for marketing and selling Oreo(R) cookies primarily to children. Oreo cookies, at 2.4 grams of trans fats per three cookies (slightly less than a stick of margarine, which contains 2.8 grams of trans fats), rank as one of the highest trans-fat content snack foods. Almost two weeks later, the lawsuit was given a media blitz, and Joseph dropped the lawsuit, saying on his Web site, that "just one day after the media coverage about the lawsuit began, Kraft announced that it would reduce or eliminate the trans fat in the Oreo." Since then, Kraft has released several new varieties of Oreos that contain zero grams of trans fat.
In September 2002, McDonald's generated media coverage with the grand announcement that, starting in February 2003, they would stop using partially hydrogenated oil for frying. Since then, McDonald's has yet to replace the oil or significantly reduce the trans-fat content in their fried foods. Several organizations have filed lawsuits regarding this issue with McDonald's, including one suit recently settled with Joseph's BanTransFats.com, which included McDonald's donating $7 million to the American Heart Association for "public education regarding trans fat" among other trans-fat-related stipulations.
"I would be in seventh heaven if they (McDonald's) would change," said Joseph.
Despite McDonald's failure to fulfill its promise, several other restaurant chains, including Ruby Tuesday, already have made the switch from frying in partially hydrogenated oil to frying in canola oil.
A good rule of thumb for the conscientious consumer is that the more local and handmade the food is, the less likely it is to contain trans fats. In Athens, both Casa Nueva and the Village Bakery have committed to largely trans-fat-free menus (there are small amounts of naturally occurring trans fats in butter and other animal-derived products).
Bob O'Neil, general manager of the Village Bakery, said that the only time they had anything like margarine or partially hydrogenated shortening in the bakery was when they made a wedding cake that would only be used for display. "No one was ever going to eat that cake. And it held up for days," said O'Neil.
But the best solution for any consumer looking for less trans fat would be to personally check any and all sources of food. Ask the servers at restaurants. Read labels and look in the ingredients lists for the words "partially hydrogenated," "hydrogenated" (fully hydrogenated oil contains no trans fat, but is often mislabeled), "partially hardened" (hardened is the more rare, somewhat antiquated term for describing hydrogenated oil) or shortening (rarely means butter, which is usually listed specifically, since for many it represents quality).
It's important to read the ingredients, since, even after the labeling mandate takes effect in January 2006, a trans-fat content of less than half a gram per serving will be listed as zero percent trans fat. Under this exception to the regulation, wary consumers may find it difficult to limit intake of trans fat to less than a gram per day just by reading the advertised "zero grams of trans fat" on the front of packaging.
Both BanTransFats.com and CSPI are currently petitioning the FDA to insist that zero grams should mean zero grams and that the original footnote suggested by the FDA should be reinserted into the mandate. Under the currently proposed mandate, there will be nothing listed in the "%DV" column for trans fats.
Trans fat is already regulated in many European countries and has been effectively banned in Denmark. Also, the Canadian government, led by the New Democratic Party, is currently working toward banning trans fat in Canada. The mandated labeling will take effect in the U.S. on Jan. 1, 2006.
Comments
Please log in to post a comment.
