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Trans
fats coming to food labels
July 17, 03
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
Brace
yourself. We’re about to find out
just how much trans fat our favorite
foods contain.
The Food and Drug Administration last
week announced a new requirement for
manufacturers of chips, crackers,
cookies, and more than 40,000 other
packaged foods to list on nutrition
labels the number of grams of trans fat
their products contain.
Why should you care?
Because trans fats raise levels of
"bad" cholesterol and are
associated with higher rates of coronary
artery disease. Even the smallest amount
increases the risk of disease.
In fact, trans fats are likely even more
artery clogging than the saturated fats
found in animal products.
And they’re everywhere.
As I wrote in a column earlier this year,
until now, there has been no explicit
information about trans fats on food
labels. To figure out if a food contained
trans fat, you had to scrutinize
ingredient lists. The key words:
hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated
vegetable oil, and vegetable shortening.
Code for "trans."
Trans fats occur naturally in meat and
dairy products, but the lion’s share
in most of our diets comes from vegetable
oils that have been hardened through a
process that turns liquid oil into a
solid. Think Crisco and stick margarine.
That solid shortening helps to make
piecrusts and biscuits flaky and keeps
foods tasting fresh longer.
Solid shortening is a mainstay of food
manufacturers. With more attention on the
trans-fat content of supermarket foods,
food companies will face pressure to
reformulate products. And it’s not
as simple as substituting canola oil for
partially hydrogenated soybean oil. A
change in the type of fat used can affect
flavor, mouth feel, and the texture of
foods.
No wonder the food industry has fought
plans for trans-fat labeling.
The new rule is a partial victory for
consumers. But it’s also a victory
for the food industry, which successfully
blocked a proposal to also require a
warning on foods containing trans fats,
informing consumers that no amount of
trans fat is safe.
It’s also an example of how
political persuasion often determines
food and nutrition policy. Consumer
groups have been lobbying for the change
for a decade. But it wasn’t until
the White House’s powerful Office of
Management and Budget, citing the benefit
of saved lives and lower medical costs,
asked the FDA to adopt trans-fat labeling
rules that serious rule-making movement
began.
The reg calls for trans fat to be listed
separately under saturated fats on the
nutrition fact label. Since no amount of
trans fat is safe to eat, there
won’t be any mention of a daily
budget or percentage goal on the label,
as there now is for saturated fats.
Of course, while studies have found no
safe intake of trans fats, the same is
true for saturated fats. Ideally, both
types of fats should be accompanied by a
warning on nutrition fact labels,
reminding all of us that the goal should
be intakes of saturated fat and trans fat
as close to zero as possible.
Food companies have until January 1, 2006
to comply with the new rule, but expect
to see trans-fat listings popping up on
food labels soon. FDA is hoping the
regulation will spur competition among
food manufacturers that want to be the
first to market their new
"healthier" products.
Be forewarned, however: Restaurant foods
are exempt from the label rule. Fast
foods, foods cooked on a grill such as
meats, eggs, sandwiches, and pancakes,
deep-fried restaurant foods, and other
foods not sold in wrappers are likely
still to be loaded with trans fats.
Eat defensively. Read labels, push the
fruits and veggies, and stay informed.
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