FDA Moves To Virtually Eliminate Trans Fat

Removing trans fat from processed food would cut down on heart disease, says the FDA.

“While consumption of potentially harmful artificial trans fat has declined over the last two decades in the United States, current intake remains a significant public health concerns,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg.

The agency has issued a preliminary determination that partially hydrogenated oils, the main source of artificial trans fat in processed foods, are not “generally recognized as safe.” That assessment is based on a review of scientific evidence and expert scientific testimony, the agency said.

If the change is adopted, partially hydrogenated oils would be considered “food additives” and could not be used unless authorized by regulation, virtually eliminating their use in foods.

Food manufacturers would have to prove that trans fat is safe to eat. The Institute of Medicine, an independent agency, has concluded that trans fat provides no known health benefit and that there is no safe level of artificial trans fat.

By: Cheston Catalano

Cheston Catalano is a Kentucky-based journalist whose work has been featured in the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle. He is a long-time contributor to Liberaland.