FDA Takes Steps to Ban Trans Fat

[Buster's Uncle]

FDA Takes Steps to Ban Trans Fat
LiveScience.com
By Rachael Rettner, Senior Writer  1 hour ago



Artificial trans fats in foods may soon be a thing of the past, according to a new announcement from the Food and Drug Administration.

The agency said today it has taken steps to move trans fat out of its current category of ingredients that are "generally recognized as safe," a move that, if finalized, could require the food industry to phase out the use of the ingredient.

Trans fat, or partially hydrogenated oil, has been linked with increased cholesterol levels, and a higher risk of coronary heart disease, the agency said. Reducing trans fat in foods could prevent 20,000 heart attack sand 7,000 death from heart disease each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since 2006, food companies have been required to list trans fat on their labels, and in recent years, many food companies and fast food restaurants have reduced trans fat in their products.

However, trans fats can still be found in some processed foods such as cookies, frozen pies, refrigerated dough and vegetable shortenings, the FDA said.


http://news.yahoo.com/fda-takes-steps-ban-trans-fat-221627221.html

[Buster's Uncle]

7 Foods That Won’t Be the Same If Trans Fats Are Banned
Time.com
By Alexandra Sifferlin 6 hours ago



On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it is moving toward significantly limiting–more or less banning–trans fats from foods in the U.S.

The agency decided that trans fats are not safe for human health, and shouldn’t be in foods we eat. So what are they? Trans fats are a byproduct of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs). By bubbling hydrogen gas through oil under certain conditions, manufactures can turn liquid oils into whatever saturation or thickness that they desire. Such partially hydrogenated oils have become popular because they give foods taste and texture, and in the 1950s, trans fats emerged as a way to increase the shelf life for processed foods such as baked goods.

However, they have also been linked to major health problems such as coronary heart disease, since trans fats build up plaque in the arteries that can contribute to a heart attack. In 1999, the FDA first proposed that manufacturers disclose the amount of trans fat on nutrition labels but that did not become a requirement until 2006.

Now, after reviewing studies on trans fats, the FDA issued a Federal Register notice, which is preliminarily determination that PHOs are no longer “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS). The public, include scientists and other experts in nutrition and health, have 60 days to comment on the FDA’s conclusion, and if after that time the agency still deems that trans fats are unsafe, manufacturers would need to get FDA approval to use PHOs and trans fats in their products. Foods that contain unapproved food additives cannot legally be sold, and therefore are banned.

“This is welcome news and if anything overdue,” says Dr. David Katz, Dr. David Katz, the director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center and author of the new book Disease Proof: The Remarkable Truth About What Makes Us Well. “The writing on the wall has been there for a long time. I don’t think businesses will be surprised or there will be much push back. Frankly, most shoppers want to avoid trans fat.”

Many companies have already rid their foods of trans fats, and New York City even banned trans fat from restaurant food in 2006.

But there are still foods that rely heavily on trans fats, and here are some predictions from industry experts about how these foods will change:

1. Doughnuts: Without trans fats, they may become more oily. Many desserts, like cookies, cakes and doughnuts rely on trans fats to give them a lighter texture. “Only partially hydrogenated oils continue to stay a part of the matrix and don’t exude out of the food,” says Kantha Shelke, a food scientist at Corvus Blue LLC and spokesperson for the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).

2. Crackers: Trans fats may be replaced by soy bean oil or canola oil.

3. Movie Theater and Microwaveable Popcorn: Popcorn commonly has trans fats, and according to Kristin Kirkpatrick, a wellness manager and registered dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, we will probably more actual butter may replace the trans fats to maintain that popcorn flavor.

4. Frozen Pizza: Any frozen food with many ingredients can contain trans fats, and some easy swaps could include vegetable oils, but some experts worry about what other additives might be added to achieve the same food preserving features that trans fats had. “We don’t want other additives to make these last longer. Do we really want something in our food that can stay in our pantry for three years?” says Kirkpatrick.

5. Coffee Creamers: Anytime there is cream in a product, you can thank trans fats. “We will probably see more soy bean oil or even some vegetables oils used,” says  Kirkpatrick. Some brands, like MimicCreme, achieve their thickness with finely lacerated cashews and almonds.

6. Refrigerated Dough Products: “We will probably see canola oil increase more because we know it has some benefits, and it can be very stable in these products,” says Kirkpatrick, of ready-to-bake biscuits and cinnamon rolls.

7. Canned Frosting: The trans fats may be substituted with lard or vegetable oils.

Even with the FDA’s conclusion that trans fats are no longer recognized as safe, it doesn’t necessarily mean all PHOs will be gone for good. It’s still possible for a company to petition the FDA to prove that a specific use of PHO is safe, under the “reasonable certainty of no harm” FDA safety standard, but this would be quite difficult to prove — and make it harder for companies to justify their use.

What worries some health experts is what the food industry will come up with to replace the trans fats. “That question is the potential devil in the details,” says Dr. Katz. “There are other ways to manipulate fat, and we have to be careful we don’t wind up with another bad invention.”


http://news.yahoo.com/7-foods-won-t-same-trans-fats-banned-174207208.html

[Buster's Uncle]

5 Foods That Face Changes with Trans Fat Ban
LiveScience.com
By Rachael Rettner, Senior Writer  6 hours ago



The Food and Drug Administration's announcement today (Nov. 7) that trans fats could be phased out means that some popular food products may need to be reformulated in the future to comply with the law.

The FDA said it has taken steps to move trans fat out of its current category of food ingredients that are "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS). If trans fat are not GRAS, they would become illegal food additives, unless food companies can prove that they are not harmful to health, which would be a challenge, Michael R. Taylor, the FDA's deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine, told the New York Times.

Before the decision is finalized, the FDA is seeking public comment for 60 days to hear from the food industry and other experts to determine how long it would take food manufacturers to phase out trans fats, and how the change would impact small businesses.

Trans fats are produced when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil to make it more solid, and companies began adding the ingredient to processed food in the 1950s to lengthen the shelf-life and flavor stability of their products, the FDA said. [3 Tips for Eating Less Trans Fat]

Since 2006, food companies have been required to list trans fat on their labels, a law that pressured many manufactures to reduce trans fat in their products. In fact, the average American today consumes about 1 gram of trans fat daily, down from 4.6 grams in 2003, according to the FDA. U.S. dietary guidelines recommend that people keep trans fat consumption as low as possible.

However, trans fats can still be found in some processed foods, and is listed on the ingredients label as partially hydrogenated oil. Here's a list of some popular trans fat holdouts that may be affected by the FDA proposal:


Microwave popcorn:

According to a recent study published in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease, declines in trans fat in microwave popcorn have been particularly slow compared to some other food products. In 2011, popcorn products had an average of nearly 4 grams of trans fat per serving, the study found.

Some popcorn brands have eliminated trans fat, but others still contain up to 5 grams of trans fat per serving, according to the Centers for Science in the Public Interest.


Cookies and crackers:

Some baked goods, such as cookies and crackers, can contain trans fat, saidKatherine Tallmadge, a registered dietitian, and op-ed contributor to LiveScience. Manufacturers of these products like to use trans fat because it's a solid at room temperature that helps the product to be crispy, Tallmadge said. Cookies can contain up to 3.5 grams of trans fat per serving, according to the CDC.

Still, Tallmadge noted "a lot of trans fats are out of the marketplace," thanks to the requirement that trans fat be listed on food labels.


Refrigerated dough and pie crust:

Refrigerated dough, like cookie and biscuit dough, and ready-made pie crust can make dessert-making easy, but consumers should be wary of trans fat in the products. Some brands of refrigerated dough and ready-made pie crusts or mixes can contain between 2 and 3 grams of trans fat, according to the CSPI.


Margarines:

Trans fat in margarines has also declined slowly in recent years, according to the Preventing Chronic Disease study. The study found that margarine and spread products contained, on average, about 2 grams of trans fat per serving in 2011.


Coffee creamers:

Some coffee creamers contain trans fat, according to the FDA. In a 2008 study by CSPI, some coffee creamers were found to have between 0.1 and 0.7 grams of trans fat.

Products that contain less than 0.5 grams of trans fat can be labeled as containing 0 grams, the FDA says. So consumers should look at ingredient labels and try to avoid creamers that list partially hydrogenated soy or canola oil, the CSPI says.


http://news.yahoo.com/5-foods-face-changes-trans-fat-ban-200754083.html

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Welcome to the lean era!

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Boooo.

[Geo]

 

[Buster's Uncle]