FDA: Farewell to Trans Fats
FDA: Farewell to Trans Fats
June 16, 2015 -- A number of popular foods are about to lighten up. The FDA is all but banning the use of partially hydrogenated oils, the main source of artery-clogging artificial trans fats, in processed food.
Food makers will have 3 years to remove partially hydrogenated oils from products, the agency says in a statement.
Experts can’t say there’s any safe level of trans fats to eat, "because we don't have the evidence," says Walter Willett, MD, DrPH, MPH, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Food makers have found substitutes for these controversial fats, he says, which proves "there's absolutely no need for trans fats in the food supply."
Today's final decision follows the agency's initial judgment in 2013 that the status of these fats should be changed. Those actions follow decades of research showing they boost the risk of heart disease.
"We generally support the goal of reduced trans fat,'' says Robert Collette, president of the Institute of Shortening and Edible Oils, whose members make the products. "We will continue to do what we have done for the past 10 years -- work with the food industry in formulating other alternatives."
Tuesday's FDA decision removes trans fats from a category known as ''generally recognized as safe" (GRAS). Ingredients in the GRAS category can be added to food without the agency's approval.
The move now means makers must get the agency’s OK to use trans fats in food.
The fats are used to help give foods stability, extend shelf life, and sometimes improve ''mouth feel,'' the response to a food's texture and flavor.
Public health experts praised the decision. Food makers pointed out that they’ve been gradually phasing out trans fats for years, but warn that some foods won't taste the same without them.
Slideshow: Foods With Healthy Fats
They’re found in some processed foods, including desserts, microwave popcorn, frozen pizzas, coffee creamer, and margarines. The fats can raise your LDL ''bad'' cholesterol and lower your HDL ''good" cholesterol.
"Studies show that diet and nutrition play a key role in preventing chronic health problems, such as cardiovascular disease, and today's action goes hand in hand with other FDA initiatives to improve the health of Americans, including updating the nutrition facts label," says Susan Mayne, PhD, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, in the statement.
FDA: Farewell to Trans Fats
Food makers will have 3 years to remove partially hydrogenated oils from products, the agency says in a statement.
Experts can’t say there’s any safe level of trans fats to eat, "because we don't have the evidence," says Walter Willett, MD, DrPH, MPH, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Food makers have found substitutes for these controversial fats, he says, which proves "there's absolutely no need for trans fats in the food supply."
Today's final decision follows the agency's initial judgment in 2013 that the status of these fats should be changed. Those actions follow decades of research showing they boost the risk of heart disease.
"We generally support the goal of reduced trans fat,'' says Robert Collette, president of the Institute of Shortening and Edible Oils, whose members make the products. "We will continue to do what we have done for the past 10 years -- work with the food industry in formulating other alternatives."
Tuesday's FDA decision removes trans fats from a category known as ''generally recognized as safe" (GRAS). Ingredients in the GRAS category can be added to food without the agency's approval.
The move now means makers must get the agency’s OK to use trans fats in food.
The fats are used to help give foods stability, extend shelf life, and sometimes improve ''mouth feel,'' the response to a food's texture and flavor.
Public health experts praised the decision. Food makers pointed out that they’ve been gradually phasing out trans fats for years, but warn that some foods won't taste the same without them.
Slideshow: Foods With Healthy Fats
What Are Trans Fats?
They’re found in some processed foods, including desserts, microwave popcorn, frozen pizzas, coffee creamer, and margarines. The fats can raise your LDL ''bad'' cholesterol and lower your HDL ''good" cholesterol.
"Studies show that diet and nutrition play a key role in preventing chronic health problems, such as cardiovascular disease, and today's action goes hand in hand with other FDA initiatives to improve the health of Americans, including updating the nutrition facts label," says Susan Mayne, PhD, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, in the statement.
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