|
|||||||||||||||
Home
|
 Snack
Attack — New Regulations Target Trans FatsBy Sharon Palmer, RD Today’s Dietitian Vol. 8 No. 2 P. 30 Good riddance, trans fats. Food manufacturers are stripping dangerous trans fats from their products to comply with new labeling regulations, but what are the alternatives? As the FDA battened down regulations for trans fat labeling on food packages, beginning January 1, the food industry performed a mad dash to remove villainous trans fats from its products. Now consumers can happily pick up food packages and search the nutrition label for that desirable level of “0 grams of trans fat” per serving—the golden ticket for dropping the food product into their shopping cart. The topic of trans fats has been hot and heavy for months, with prestigious stores such as Whole Foods removing all traces of products containing trans fats from shelves and an entire town, such as Tiburon, Calif., proclaiming that it is trans fat-free. Food products, such as Frito Lay chips and Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers, have received positive press for removing trans fat from products, while McDonald’s has been pummeled in headlines for failing to live up to its trans fat-reducing promises. “There’s certainly a push to get trans fats out of products,” says Karen Duester, MS, RD, president, of Food Consulting Company in Del Mar, Calif., a company specializing in nutrition labeling services. “We’ve been working a lot with the trans fat regulation.” Health experts seem to be impressed with the degree to which the food industry has embraced removing trans fats from products—not an easy thing to do when trans fats worked so well, offering wonderful properties and stability over the years in food processing. There’s no doubt that the trans fat-free movement is a good thing. In 2003, the National Academies’ Institute of Medicine concluded that the only safe recommendation for trans fat intake was zero. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), partially hydrogenated oils, responsible for causing thousands of heart-attack deaths each year, should be removed from the American food supply since safer alternatives are widely available. The CSPI launched a major campaign, TransFree America, to encourage food manufacturers to remove trans fats from their products.1 After all, trans fats raise low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, may increase triglycerides and inflammation, and have been linked to increased risk of diabetes.2 “So far, so good,” says Stephen Joseph, CEO of BanTransFats.com, regarding the industry’s move to rid products of trans fats. “It’s not a 100% record, but it’s encouraging.” But will consumers stop to think how those grams of trans fat were magically erased from their favorite foods? Dietitians are bracing themselves to ride the tide of consumer education when it comes to the fat lineup on food products lining supermarket shelves. “I believe that dietitians are very knowledgeable on the science on trans fat. However, regulations are very complicated. For example, the requirement for labeling of trans fat [went] into effect on January 1, but what this means is that any product manufactured beginning January 1 must include trans fat on the label,” says Annette Maggi, MS, RD, author and expert on food labeling. Maggi reports that products stocked in distribution and warehousing systems and on store shelves may not have trans fat content on the label this year. Where Did the Trans Fats Go? Gerald McNeil, PhD, director of research & development and marketing at Loders Croklaan (headquartered in Wormerveer, Netherlands), a key global producer in the supply of oils and fats, says, “In baked goods, you need a solid or semisolid fat. In frying, very often a liquid oil can be used. For instance, in cookies a liquid oil doesn’t cream well, create the textures that you want in baked goods, and have the structure in baking. It spreads out and gets thin, hard, and brittle. “You have to go back to where you were before partially hydrogenated oils started replacing saturated fats,” says McNeil, who reports that hydrogenation started occurring as a cheap replacement for animal fats. “In the mid-80s, there was a big campaign against saturated fats and tropical oils. So trans fats were increasingly adopted as an alternative. It is made in a chemical process that converts polyunsaturates to a mixture of trans fatty acids to make a product that is not found in nature. Only 15% or less of the trans fats made by hydrogenation can be found naturally in the food chain in animal products. “Although trans fats have been consumed at high levels, much long-term research on its impact risk of heart disease wasn’t completed. People thought they were eating healthier,” he says. According to McNeil, the food industry switched to trans fats to beat the known villain at the time—saturated fats. But not enough consideration was given to such a broad industry change in fats that occurred when trans fats replaced saturated fats. Since food labels displayed that they were free of saturated fats and didn’t list trans fat grams, people naturally thought those foods were more healthy. Alternative Fats in the Mix Reeves also reports that trait-enhanced (mostly nontransgenic) oils—oil seed varieties established to increase stability—were introduced in 2005 as viable trans fat alternatives. For instance, low linolenic acid soybean oil was commercially introduced by being planted on approximately 150,000 acres, and rapid commercial expansion of this variety is expected. Reeves projects that by 2008 there will be 2 billion pounds of this oil in the commercial marketplace. He reports, “By 2010, you’ll probably see many oil seed varieties with further increases in stability and other positive attributes.” Another direction for replacing trans fats includes mixing unhydrogenated and fully hydrogenated oils so there is no room for trans fats, according to Reeves. “These are fully hydrogenated fats with no trans fats remaining. By interesterifying this fat mixture, you can alter the arrangements of fatty acids on the glycerin molecule.” Companies continue to explore alternatives. Danisco USA developed a trans fat-free product that combines emulsifiers with oil to mimic the performance of shortening in most applications. Swapping Trans Fat for Saturated Fat “The overall goal is to avoid alternates that are high in saturated fat. The one thing that concerns everyone is palm oil. We need alternatives that are low in saturated fat, like non-partially hydrogenated soybean oil and canola oil, which on a whole this country is going to,” says Joseph. Reeves reports, “Virtually every food manufacturer that we deal with is cognizant of saturated fats.” But he also notes that it is difficult to have the same consistency and acceptance in food products for so long without raising the saturated fats. McNeil sees a different future for fat alternatives. “You need functionality in baked goods, and palm oil is a popular alternative. It has no trans fats or hydrogenation, it is a vegetable source, there is no chemical processing, and it is pressed from the palm fruit with no solvents used in extraction,” says McNeil, who reports an increase in the use of palm oil in baked goods in the past year. He notes that palm oil has small, stable crystals that entrap small air bubbles to contribute to texture and that it is very stable compared with polyunsaturates that oxidize readily. “If the fat is high in polyunsaturates, it is unlikely to last long in baked goods with a high shelf life of six months to 1 year before it is eaten,” adds McNeil. “Basically, if you use saturated fats to replace partially hydrogenated fats, it is a 1-to-1 substitution with trans fats and saturated fats. If you added 2 grams of trans fat to the product previously, you’ll have to add 2 grams of saturated fat to give it the same functionality and stability,” says McNeil. “It is very important to know that trans fats are much worse than saturated fats. When you compare saturated fats to trans fats, saturated fats increase LDL and increase HDL cholesterol. Trans fats increase LDL more than saturated fats and they don’t change HDL cholesterol.” But the American Heart Association (AHA) continues to suggest that saturated fat intakes be limited to 7% to 10% of daily caloric intake and caution that tropical oils contain high levels of saturated fatty acids (coconut oil contains 92%, palm kernel oil has 82%, and palm oil has 50% saturated fatty acids).3 The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that people limit their saturated and trans fat intake. The CSPI urges companies not to switch to palm oil, as this oil is generally produced in Indonesia and Malaysia, where oil palm plantations have replaced rainforests filled with endangered species. In addition, palm oil promotes heart disease, even if not to the same extent as partially hydrogenated oils.4 “I think it’s key for consumers to understand that while trans fat labeling is new, they should not lose sight of saturated fat numbers on the label. Given a choice between two brands of the same product, consumers should choose the one that has lower levels of saturated and trans fats,” says Maggi. Trimming Trans Fat Instead of Ridding It Maggi reports that she has observed some confusion among dietitians on this issue and adds, “We still do not have FDA-approved regulations for claims such as ‘low trans fat’ or ‘trans fat free.’ Consumers may see some of these messages on products but need to understand that there are no standard definitions around these terms today. I also think dietitians need to understand that trans fats have a function in the food supply. It can significantly impact shelf life of a product. The food industry is doing everything it can to minimize trans fat in foods, but it is not possible to completely eliminate them today.” What’s Frying in the Restaurant Scene? Meanwhile, Ruby Tuesday, which provides nutrition information on its menus, and Legal Sea Foods have basked in the publicity glow of using enlightened trans fat-free oils. The CSPI reports that a few restaurant chains are paving the way for trans fat-free dining, such as Au Bon Pain, which has eliminated trans fat from all its cookies, bagels, and muffins and is now using a nonhydrogenated margarine.4 “The restaurant industry has worked very hard along the same lines as the food industry. It would be foolish for them to sit along the sidelines and do nothing. They are rapidly working on alternatives. They know if their competitor removes trans fats, they’ve got to do the same thing,” says Reeves, noting that there are good trans fat alternatives for frying. Joseph disagrees. “It’s a completely different story in restaurants. Labeling in packaged foods is showing to be influential for what manufacturers put in their products. When you get into the restaurant labeling, it’s a more complex issue,” says Joseph, who reports that the restaurant industry has lobbied heavily against labeling. It may be easy for a large chain restaurant with standardized products to label foods, but what about the mom-and-pop restaurant down the street that changes its menu frequently? Joseph points out, “It’s not difficult for anyone to disclose that they use trans fats.” A significant problem is that when people have grown accustomed to the taste and texture of a famous restaurant’s french fries for decades, it’s difficult to mess with the formula without causing an uproar. “When you have a product that has been a mainstay for many years, you’d better make sure it is a good replicate in terms of functionality with no noticeable change to maintain consumer acceptance,” says Reeves. In Tiburon, Calif., BanTransFats.com worked successfully with 18 restaurants to help them come up with trans fat-free cooking oils. New York City made headlines in August 2005 when the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene asked city restaurants and food suppliers to voluntarily move away from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. A preliminary survey found that 30% of New York restaurants used oils or fats known to contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils for cooking, frying, or in spreads.5 Concerns for the Future of Fats “Cost is a driving force in [the] food industry,” says McNeil, who reports that palm and soybean oil are approximately the same in cost. “Larger companies have enormous R&D resources to try to use softer fats, but in many cases it can’t be done.” Blending fats can cut down saturated fat by one third or one half, but at a cost. “In some cases, the supplies of stable source oils have been somewhat limited. Some prices have gone up,” says Reeves in reference to food costs. “Consumers do not want prices raised. If you want a functionally adequate alternative, some of the processing methods are expensive,” says Reeves. But Joseph has no patience for companies that use excuses. “Some companies can do it and some say they can’t. It’s nonsense.” McNeil is also concerned about the oxidation of fats as companies move away from saturated fat, which is very stable. “With oxidation, the flavor deteriorates and the product is inedible. Oxidized fat can produce a high level of free radicals, which raises concerns about adverse long-term health effects. This is something the scientific community needs to analyze. In the case of frying oils, liquid oils are good and work well, but polyunsaturates degrade rapidly in frying in an open fryer at high temperatures. The rate of oxidation dramatically increases and it is degraded extensively,” says McNeil, who suggests that polyunsaturated oils should be used in individual applications, such as sauteing. Through all the trans fat-free hype, what message do consumers take home at the end of the day? “Half of the public doesn’t understand trans fats in packaged goods, they don’t know why or what trans fats do. That’s what worries me. How many are aware of why it’s a problem?” asks Joseph. On the bright side, the CSPI estimates that if the food industry eliminated partially hydrogenated oils from the food supply, 11,000 to 30,000 lives would be saved.1 Joseph expects trans fats to completely fall off the radar screen. “It will disappear. The question is, when? In the next five years, I don’t think you’ll see them anywhere.” — Sharon Palmer, RD, is a freelance food and nutrition writer in southern California.
• FDA Information on Trans Fats: www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/transfat • FoodLabels.com • American Heart Association: www.heart.org • American Dietetic Association: www.eatright.org
2. The End of the Line for Trans Fats. UC Berkeley Wellness Letter. May 2005. Available at: http://www.berkeleywellness.com/html/wl/2005/wlFeatured0505.html 3. Tropical Oils. American Heart Association. Available at: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4779 4. Food Processors & Supermarkets Move Forward on Trans Fat. CSPI. November 22, 2005. Available at: http://www.cspinet.org/new/200511221.html 5. Health department asks restaurateurs and food suppliers to voluntarily make
an oil change and eliminate artificial trans fats. NYC Health. August 10, 2005.
Available at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/pr/pr083-05.shtml |
|
 |
3801 Schuylkill Rd • Spring City, PA 19475
Publishers of Today's Dietitian
All rights reserved.