A long-awaited federal report on trans fat, a processed fat
pervasive in cookies, crackers and fast food, finds there is
no safe level and recommends that people eat as little of it
as possible.
The National Academy of Sciences study, released Wednesday,
is likely the final step in an eight-year process to get trans
fat listed on nutrition labels. The issue of whether food
labels should contain trans fat levels has been before the
Food and Drug Administration since 1994.
In light of the new study, FDA food labeling chief
Christine Lewis Taylor said her agency could create a new
labeling rule by next spring.
Dr. Jeffrey Aron, UC San Francisco professor of medicine
and one of the nation's leading experts on fatty acids, called
trans fat one of the worst hidden dangers in the food supply.
"There should be a warning on food made with this stuff
like there is on nicotine products. It's that bad for you," he
said.
As it stands, consumers have no idea how much trans fat is
in food because it isn't one of the kinds of fats required on
nutrition labels. Even products marked "low in cholesterol" or
"low in saturated fat" might have high levels of trans fat.
Trans fat is created when ordinary vegetable oil is
processed into partially hydrogenated oil. It's why margarine
and Crisco stay solid at room temperature and what makes cakes
moist, cookies fresh and crackers crisp. Partially
hydrogenated oil is in about 40 percent of the food on grocery
store shelves, according to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. It also occurs naturally in some meat and dairy
products.
PREVENTING DEATHS
According to the FDA's own research, providing information
about trans fat on labels could prevent 7,600 to 17,100 cases
of coronary heart disease and 2, 500 to 5,600 deaths every
year -- not only because people would be able to choose
healthier foods but because manufacturers could choose to
reduce trans fat amounts rather than list high levels on
nutrition panels.
The latest government study confirms that trans fat is
directly associated with heart disease and increases in LDL
cholesterol, the kind that can clog arteries. Because of that,
the Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of
Sciences, declared there is no safe amount of trans fat in the
diet.
A generation ago, when cardiologists waved Americans off
saturated fats such as butter and beef tallow, partially
hydrogenated oils became a preferred alternative. But during
the late 1990s, researchers started to discover that trans fat
could clog arteries as readily as saturated fat.
Some of the nation's leading medical researchers, including
many in the Bay Area, also believe that high trans fat levels
in the American diet may be why childhood obesity is on the
rise, why diabetes is at record levels and why some people
develop cancer and other related health problems.
"The only defense people have is to eat good fats and oils
and fruits and vegetables," Aron said.
BAN CALLED IMPRACTICAL
Wednesday's study reported that since trans fat occurs in
so many types of food, including dairy products and meats, an
all-out ban would be impractical and could lead to other
nutritional problems. Instead, the study says trans fat
consumption should be "as low as possible while consuming a
nutritionally adequate diet."
The report is one of the most strongly worded and
influential documents on trans fat ever issued, since it is
what the government will use to change nutritional regulations
and recommenda tions.
The bill is a victory for consumers, said state Sen. Debra
Bowen, D-Marina del Rey, who sponsored a bill that would have
made California the first state to require food manufacturers
to list trans fat amounts on nutrition labels. Bowen said she
introduced the bill earlier this year, after a Chronicle story
detailed the health dangers of trans fat, because the federal
government had been slow to act. The bill was killed in the
Assembly Agriculture Committee late last month.
"What did surprise me was the finding that there is no safe
level of trans fat. That's fairly extraordinary," she said.
"This will cause a lot of people to re-evaluate how they
manage their diet."
FERRETING OUT TRANS FAT IN FOOD
Trans fat is invisible
on today's food labels. Only three types of fat -- saturated
fat and, in some cases, poly- and monounsaturated fats -- must
be listed under the total fat content. To figure out whether
trans fat is in the food, you have to read between the lines.
-- Look for the words hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated
or fractionated in the list of ingredients. The vast majority
of trans fat comes from hydrogenation. The higher up partially
hydrogenated oil is in the list of ingredients, the more trans
fat the product contains.
-- Figure out how much fat you need every day. For an
average healthy person who eats 2,500 calories a day, about 30
percent or less should come from fat, according to the USDA.
That translates to about 80 grams a day.
-- Note the amount of total fat listed on the nutrition
label and compare it to the breakdown of specific fats. A box
of reduced-fat Triscuits, for example, has 3 grams of fat per
seven-cracker serving. Saturated fats make up 1/2 gram of that
and monounsaturated fats 1 gram. The crackers have no
polyunsaturated fats, so the remaining 1 1/2 grams must be the
only other kind of dietary fat -- trans fat.
-- A study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest
showed that foods with partially hydrogenated oils in the
ingredient list contained 1 gram of hidden trans fat for each
gram of saturated fat. That means that Chips Ahoy cookies, for
example, with 2 grams of saturated fat per serving also
contains 2 additional grams of trans fat. -- Kim Severson
The Associated Press contributed to this report. /
E-mail Kim Severson at [email protected].
Read her in-depth story about trans fat that appeared in the
Jan. 30 Food section by logging on to
sfgate.com/chronicle/special/.