NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

December 2, 1999

More Information on Fat Likely to Appear on Food Labels

Consumers are likely to have more nutrition information to chew on in the future. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently proposed that the amount of trans fatty acids in a food be included in the Nutrition Facts panel on product labels.

Trans fatty acids, also known as trans fat, are made through a process called hydrogenation, which solidifies liquid vegetable oils, explains Joyce Merkel, nutrition specialist with North Dakota State University Extension Service. Except for a small amount of trans fat present in beef due to chemical reactions occurring in the rumen, this substance does not occur naturally. The majority of trans fat consumers eat is artificially produced, the result of hydrogenation.

Recent studies indicate that eating trans fat can increase a person's risk of coronary heart disease because it increases LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels. Merkel adds, "There is concern that trans fat also may lower the `good' HDL cholesterol, not just raise the LDL."

Food manufacturers have used hydrogenation for years because the process increases shelf life and maintains the flavor of oils and foods that contain oil, Merkel says. Vegetable shortening and some types of margarine are examples of hydrogenated foods.

"We don't necessarily want people to switch to butter, a highly saturated fat as opposed to margarine. We rather prefer that they use the softer margarines," Merkel stresses.

But only about 40 percent of the trans fat Americans consume comes from the margarine and shortening they eat, Merkel says. The rest of the trans fat comes from processed foods such as crackers, cookies and other baked goods, and also from sources such as the French fries and other deep-fried foods restaurants serve.

"It may be a few years before the rule change the FDA is proposing appears on a food label," Merkel says. "In the mean time, some food manufacturers will probably start to use their products' trans fat content in marketing. In fact, there are products, particularly margarine, whose labels already highlight a zero trans fat content."

As proposed, the FDA rule change defines what products could make a "trans fat free" claim. In addition, the FDA would permit "low saturated fat" claims only on the labels of products that contain less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. Cholesterol claims and "lean" or "extra lean" claims would also be linked to trans fat content.

The FDA is accepting public comments on the rule change until early February 2000. After that, the agency will publish its final rule. Food manufacturers will have a grace period before compliance becomes mandatory and consumers will start to see trans fat grams on labels.

"Once the trans fat content does begin appearing on food labels, I expect the amount of trans fat those foods contain will be lower than what they are now," Merkel says.

Meanwhile, Merkel offers these tips for reducing trans fat intake:

• Buy soft margarine, but check labels to see if the products can be used for sauteeing or baking. Butter is not better than margarine, but using small amounts of either is OK. People who like to spread it on thick, though, should opt for margarine instead of butter.
• Read the ingredients listed on processed foods. If the phrase "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" appears on a label, look for similar products that contain oils which haven't been hydrogenated.
• Besides French fries, breaded and/or fried chicken or fish are also high in trans fat. Consider all of these foods a once-in-a-while treat.
• When stir-frying vegetables or meats, use a monounsaturated fat such as olive or canola oil. Better yet, bake, boil, microwave, poach or steam foods instead of frying.
• Use a little jam, jelly or honey rather than margarine or butter. While jams, jellies and pure honey still contain calories, these products have no fat.

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Source: Joyce Merkel (701) 231-7760
Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136