TRANS FAT ISSUE TOPIC FOR INDUSTRY MAGAZINES IN OCTOBER
Discussions on fats and oils are regular topics in a number of publications, but in October both Prepared Foods, the trade magazine that reports on trends and technologies for food ingredient formulators and marketers, and Baking & Snack, the monthly magazine specifically targeting marketers and food formulators in the baking and snack food industry, addressed the newest trend among food companies—reducing the level of trans fatty acids in their products. One central theme to both articles was that the average consumer will not likely be able to grasp the complexities of various aspects of fat nutrition. For instance, while labels will soon likely include a listing of the grams of trans fat on a separate line in the nutrition facts area, trans fats will not be included in the Percent Daily Value area. That’s because studies have not concluded where, if any, a safe limit of trans fats exits. Another complication is that since trans fats occur naturally in meat, dairy and other products, a total elimination would likely require such a drastic change in consumers’ diets that other health issues may emerge as a result. Trans fats are formed when oils are hydrogenated, but there is an option to hydrogenation: interesterification, which is the process of essentially rearranging and redistributing fatty acids. Some oilseeds, however, lend themselves more readily to this process than others. Also, for foods that are formulated with a high fat content, and/or when a solid fat is critical to maintaining the structure of the food/snack at certain points in the process, interesterification may not be an option. Formulators say that the real challenge is to reduce the level of trans fatty acids without increasing the saturated fat level. At a recent industry meeting in California, some ingredient suppliers indicated they had commercial liquid shortenings available that greatly reduced the levels of trans fatty acids but that they were still working to reduce the trans fats in solid shortenings. The articles concluded that given the complexities of the issue, managing the flow of information between scientists, nutritionists and the public would be critically important. The articles also listed website resources for the issue, including NCPA’s web site www.cotton-seed.com (not org), along with others in academia and government. (Sources: Prepared Foods, October 2002; Baking & Snack, October 2002; NCPA web site www.cottonseed.com)