FDA Gives Food Industry Three Years to Phase Out Trans Fats

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Tuesday that the food industry has three years to eliminate artificial trans fats from the food supply.

The announcement culminates a years’ long effort by consumer groups. The ban is expected to prevent thousands of heart attacks, save thousands of lives, and result in a saving of billions in heath care costs, the New York Times reports.

Trans fats, which are a major contributor to heart disease, have already been greatly reduced in many foods, but are still present in many popular products, including frostings, microwave popcorn, packaged pies, cookies, crackers, frozen pizzas, margarines and non-dairy coffee creamers.

Since 2013, when the FDA announced its intention to act on trans fats, it has received more than 6,000 comments from a variety of the public and from health and industry groups, the Times reports. Tuesday’s decision is final and would effectively remove industrially produced trans fats from foods by 2018. (A small amount of trans fat occurs naturally in some dairy and meat products and these would not fall under the new ban). The FDA estimates that the change could prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year.

According to the new rule, partially hydrogenated oils are no longer “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS), which means that companies would have to prove they are safe to eat in order to use them in food products, according to the Times. The scientific literature overwhelmingly shows the dangers of trans fats in the diet. They have been shown to raise levels of so-called bad cholesterol and lower levels of good cholesterol.

Partially hydrogenated oils are cheaper than saturated animal fats like butter and for a long time were thought to be healthier. Trans fats are formed by treating liquid vegetable oil with hydrogen to make a fat that is solid at room temperature. Because they are cheaper and improve texture and extend shelf life of many products, partially hydrogenated oils have been widely used in fried and baked goods and in margarine and coffee creamers. But their use has dramatically declined since 2006, when the F.D.A. required companies to list trans fat content on the Nutrition Facts label, according to the Times.

Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, called the ban “the final nail in the coffin of trans fats,” Jacobson said eliminating trans fats “is the single most important change to our food supply,” according to the Times. The center petitioned the FDA for a trans fat ban nine years ago. The FDA estimates that the ban will cost about $6 billion to put into effect but could save about $140 billion over 20 years in health care costs and other costs.

Food industry officials reacted positively to having three years to phase out trans fats, but also indicated that they will seek permission to keep using small amounts of trans fats in certain products, the Times reports. And health experts caution that saturated fats are still an enormous problem in the American diet. The elimination of trans fats should not give consumers a false sense of security about fats in their diet.

 

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