Trans-fat in food: as bad as it gets

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From the front page of today's Chron:

 

TRANS FAT IN FOOD: AS BAD AS IT GETS

Scientists' warning likely to bring listing on nutrition labels

 

Kim Severson, Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, July 11, 2002

 

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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. "

 

 

 

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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

kseverson. Read her in-depth story about trans fat that

appeared in the Jan. 30 Food section by logging on to

sfgate.com/chronicle/special/.