What are trans fats?
Trans fats have been shown to increase the risk of heart disease, cancer and other chronic disease. Major sources of trans fat include: • Partially hydrogenated margarine • Shortening • Commercial baked goods • Potato chips and crackers Some food companies are responding by eliminating the trans fat from products like cookies and crackers. Trans fats are derived from a chemical process known as “partial hydrogenation”, converting liquid oil to a semi-solid form. The purpose of this process is to improve the shelf life of a food product and make fats spreadable. By January 2006, almost all manufacturers will have to revise the labels on their products to reflect the amount of trans fat. The labels will list the number of grams and the % Daily Value (%DV) for saturated and trans fat. Keeping in mind serving sizes, a food that has a % DV of 10% or less would be considered a good choice.
Trans fatty acids, or trans fats, are chiefly liquid oils that have been converted to solid oils though hydrogenation, a high heat chemical process. Trans fats are present in hardened vegetable oils and many margarines, commercial baked foods and fried foods. Medical health experts recommend avoiding trans fats, which have an adverse effect on blood cholesterol levels. Eating trans fats raises bad (LDL) cholesterol levels and lowers good (HDL) cholesterol levels. The risk of developing heart disease and stroke also increases. As a result of pressure from consumer groups, the Food & Drug Administration now requires that trans fats be disclosed on food labels. But because of FDA rounding rules, trans fat content below one half gram per serving is rounded down to zero grams in the Nutrition Facts – so a product can contain trans fats while showing a Trans Fat value of 0g. Careful reading of the ingredients will show that some peanut butters claiming No Trans Fat contain partially hydrogen
Most trans fats are artificially created through a chemical process called hydrogenation. This turns liquid vegetable oils into solid fats. Trans fats are also naturally found at very low levels in foods such as dairy products, beef and lamb. In the mid-1990s, studies showed that trans fats had an adverse effect on heart health. Once this fact emerged, we started to remove them from our spreads. Today, our total Healthy Heart range of foods from Becel/Flora is virtually free of trans fatty acid. We are aiming to do the same with our Family Goodness spreads.
