FDA Bans Trans Fats, but They Are Already Nearly Extinct
Partially hydrogenated oils, these universally despised sources of trans fats, have finally been more or less banned by the FDA. However, this is not as important to news coverage as it first appears: manufacturers have been phasing them out for a while, and they remain in only a handful of products.
At least the timing isn’t as bad as when we banned BPA in baby bottles long after the last BPA bottle left the factory. Trans fats have had to be listed on Nutrition Facts labels since 2006 , with a loophole whereby trans fats per serving could be rounded down to zero. The following year, the composition of Crisco was changed to comply with the established restrictions, and today there are no partially hydrogenated oils in Crisco with the usual taste. This is impressive for a product that was born 104 years ago thanks to the then new partial hydrogenation process.
Saturated and unsaturated fats are found naturally in food, as are minor amounts of natural trans fats. But in the early 1900s, chemists discovered that it was possible to partially convert unsaturated fats (like fish oil and vegetable oils) into something that behaved more like lard than oil: it was solid, not liquid, and was stored longer on the shelf. … This process is called partial hydrogenation, and it produces fat with unusual “trans” bonds. Decades later, doctors began to find these unusual fats in people with heart disease.
It wasn’t until 1976 that the FDA asked if scientists considered partially hydrogenated oils a safe ingredient in food. They replied in the affirmative, but may have been unfairly influenced by food manufacturers . The FDA’s recent ruling was the simple opposite: no, scientists now say partially hydrogenated oils are not “generally recognized as safe.” (Natural trans fats, such as those found in dairy products, are still fine.) Manufacturers have three years to either eliminate oils from food or apply to the FDA to approve specific products.
Where else will you find them
Today, not only is Crisco free of partially hydrogenated oils (with the exception of its butter-flavored version), but many other products that once contained them. I visited the margarine shelf at my local supermarket and could not find partially hydrogenated oils in any of the major brands of butter spreads. Even I can’t believe it’s not butter! The oils remained in only two packages: one container of store-bought margarine (1.5 grams of trans fat per serving) and one of the inexpensive Valu Time Spread (0 grams).
Because labeling requirements are so strong (the FDA reckons this has led to a 78% reduction in American trans fat intake), you will typically find partially hydrogenated oils only where they are present in “zero” grams per serving, or in foods that are not required. have a nutritional information label. For example, the homemade muffins in my supermarket use partially hydrogenated oils in the icing, as opposed to the fully labeled factory made muffins next to them.
Another unlabelled source: frying oil used in restaurants . (There is a label, but it will be on a container somewhere in the kitchen.) The cheapest brands of snacks and baked goods still use trans fats, but they are still found in some well-known brands, such as microwave popcorn and Girl cookies. Scout .
So if you want to avoid trans fats in the next three years, some of them (such as restaurant oils and fresh baked goods) will be impossible to find unless you ask the kitchen workers. If not, take a look at the ingredient label for something “partially hydrogenated” – it is, but rarely and less and less.
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