No More Trans Fat: FDA Banning the Artery-Clogger

[Ouchyfish 67]

Heart-clogging trans fats were once a staple of the American diet, plentiful in baked goods, microwave popcorn and fried foods. Now, mindful of the health risks, the Food and Drug Administration is getting rid of what's left of them for good.

Condemning artificial trans fats as a threat to public health, the FDA announced Thursday it will require the food industry to phase them out.

Manufacturers already have eliminated many trans fats, responding to criticism from the medical community and to local laws, Even so, the FDA said getting rid of the rest — the average American still eats around a gram of trans fat a day — could prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths each year.

It won't happen right away. The agency will collect comments for two months before determining a phase-out timetable. Different foods may have different schedules, depending how easy it is to find substitutes.

"We want to do it in a way that doesn't unduly disrupt markets," said Michael Taylor, FDA's deputy commissioner for foods. Still, he says, the food "industry has demonstrated that it is, by and large, feasible to do."

Indeed, so much already has changed that most people won't notice much difference, if any, in food they get at groceries or restaurants.

Scientists say there are no health benefits to trans fats. And they can raise levels of "bad" cholesterol and lower "good" cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Trans fats are widely considered the worst kind for your heart, even worse than saturated fats, which also can contribute to heart disease.

Trans fats are used both in processed food and in restaurants, often to improve the texture, shelf life or flavor of foods. Though they have been removed from many items, the fats are still found in some baked goods such as pie crusts and biscuits and in ready-to-eat frostings that use the more-solid fats to keep consistency.

They also are sometimes used by restaurants for frying. Many larger chains have phased them out, but smaller restaurants may still get food containing trans fats from suppliers.

How can the government get rid of them? The FDA said it has made a preliminary determination that trans fats no longer fall in the agency's "generally recognized as safe" category, which covers thousands of additives that manufacturers can add to foods without FDA review. Once trans fats are off the list, anyone who wants to use them would have to petition the agency for a regulation allowing it, and that would likely not be approved.

Source: http://abcnews.go.co...logger-20824813

[homersapien 11,513]

Many companies have already reformulated to get rid of trans fats based on the publicity surrounding them. However the rate of transition has slowed, thus the proposed regulation.

[icanthearyou 4,464]

I wish we could turn this into a poll. It would be interesting to see how many people believe the government should:

educate

regulate

do both

do neither

Preventing 7,000 deaths/year is admirable but, what about smoking, what about 32 oz. soft drinks? Where does it end? How much do we spend to protect ourselves from ourselves and each other? Who is the driving force behind this?

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

I wish we could turn this into a poll. It would be interesting to see how many people believe the government should:

educate

regulate

do both

do neither

Preventing 7,000 deaths/year is admirable but, what about smoking, what about 32 oz. soft drinks? Where does it end? How much do we spend to protect ourselves from ourselves and each other? Who is the driving force behind this?

In this case....educate Period!!!

[Ouchyfish 67]

At least smoking comes with a warning. Not everyone realizes that food manufacturers are poisoning people.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

At least smoking comes with a warning. Not everyone realizes that food manufacturers are poisoning people.

You can take that to an extreme. There is no warning on the menu when you order a big steak which is bad for your cholesterol. You can take a drug like Lipitor to reduce cholesterol but there are also drugs to reduce the effects of transfat.

[augolf1716 21,434]

let'em eat rice cakes

Woopee we're all gonna to die!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuUBCF3KKxc

[telling tiger 156]

No one wants a nanny state. As usual the US food industry has spent their lobby money very wisely to further their interest. It takes a complete clown to not pay attention to the sources and contents of their foods. There is an extremely large organic food and farm to table movement in this country. The additives, antibiotics and hormones added are a part of the reason, as is the preparation methods and contents of manufactured and processed foods. IMO, this is not overreach. IMO, it is finally doing their damn job for a change.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

No one wants a nanny state. As usual the US food industry has spent their lobby money very wisely to further their interest. It takes a complete clown to not pay attention to the sources and contents of their foods. There is an extremely large organic food and farm to table movement in this country. The additives, antibiotics and hormones added are a part of the reason, as is the preparation methods and contents of manufactured and processed foods. IMO, this is not overreach. IMO, it is finally doing their damn job for a change.

You don't want a nanny state but favor more regulations?

[telling tiger 156]

I'll just be frank with you, the fact that you cannot tell the difference in the two, does not surprise me. lol.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

I'll just be frank with you, the fact that you cannot tell the difference in the two, does not surprise me. lol.

Oh I can tell the difference so get off you little ego high horse. If you want to start another tit for tat I'm up for it. But I was initially respondind to the "poll" post. Why don't you. If you don't like my vote/opinion TS. At least I am man enough to admit my mistake when I post lies about another poster then run of to another forum.

[telling tiger 156]

I responded to the thread, not you. I'm not interested in your opinion in the least.

[icanthearyou 4,464]

No one wants a nanny state. As usual the US food industry has spent their lobby money very wisely to further their interest. It takes a complete clown to not pay attention to the sources and contents of their foods. There is an extremely large organic food and farm to table movement in this country. The additives, antibiotics and hormones added are a part of the reason, as is the preparation methods and contents of manufactured and processed foods. IMO, this is not overreach. IMO, it is finally doing their damn job for a change.

Can organic farming yield enough food, at a low enough cost, to feed the world?

[telling tiger 156]

In it's infancy, absolutely not. More expensive, to boot, than processed. It does grow larger by the day . As knowledge and practice expands, it will show a greater yield and consumer demand also drives more farmers to the process. There are now organic produce sections in almost every supermarket. Time will tell. Demand grows exponentially.

[channonc 466]

I am now having to follow a pretty strict diet with no preservatives, and hormone and antibiotic free meats (no red meat). It has completely opened my eyes to how many preservatives and chemicals we ingest constantly. It's actually hard to shop, particularly in regular grocery stores (fresh produce being the exception). Going out to eat is hard as well, unless it's a higher end restaurant that has a farm-to-table type menu. I actually wish food safety was even more of priority. I will end by saying, I'm not sure what I would do without the food labeling regulations we have now. I am not sure where I would be without them.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

I responded to the thread, not you. I'm not interested in your opinion in the least.

If you could read you would see I said I responded to the "poll." You responded to the thread topic. That's OK but then you had to make a smart ass comment aimed at me. Best thing you can do is not read my posts for lots of reasons.

[telling tiger 156]

I NEVER respond to you until you quote my post, yet again. I never read your post on any subject until you include me. There is no reason to.

[bigbird 60,580]

I think Darwin was right on this one...Survival of the fittest!

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

I NEVER respond to you until you quote my post, yet again. I never read your post on any subject until you include me. There is no reason to.

That's great news on a Saturday morning.