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Health See other Health Articles Title: F.D.A. Ruling Would All but Eliminate Trans Fats F.D.A. Ruling Would All but Eliminate Trans Fats By SABRINA TAVERNISE Published: November 7, 2013 1105 Comments The Food and Drug Administration proposed measures on Thursday that would all but eliminate artery-clogging, artificial trans fats from the food supply, the culmination of three decades of effort by public health advocates to get the government to take action against them. Readers’ Comments "Want to cut health care costs? Stop allowing corporations to sell things that are the direct identifiable cause of health problems." John, PennsylvanniaRead Full Comment » Post a Comment » Artificial trans fats — a major contributor to heart disease in the United States — have already been substantially reduced in foods. But they still lurk in many popular products, like frostings, microwave popcorn, packaged pies, frozen pizzas, margarines and coffee creamers. Banning them completely could prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year, the F.D.A. said. “This is the final slam dunk on the trans fat issue,” said Barry Popkin, a nutrition epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The proposal is a rare political victory in an era when many regulations to protect public health have stalled. A landmark food safety bill took years to carry out, in part because it collided with the 2012 election season. And rules to regulate the tobacco industry are still stuck, four years after the law calling for them was passed. But just last month, the F.D.A. toughened restrictions on narcotic painkillers over industry objections. Thursday’s announcement got the attention of food experts. “The F.D.A. is back,” said Marion Nestle, a professor in the department of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. The agency has proposed that partially hydrogenated oils, the source of trans fats, no longer be “generally recognized as safe.” That means companies would have to prove that such oils are safe to eat, a high hurdle given that scientific literature overwhelmingly shows the contrary. The Institute of Medicine has concluded that there is no safe level for consumption of them, a conclusion that the F.D.A. cited in its reasoning. The agency emphasized that the ruling, which is open to public comment for 60 days, was preliminary. But food producers seemed to take it in stride, in part because many had already made adjustments, and Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, the agency’s commissioner, signaled that the draft rule might be made final. “Life has many uncertainties, but we are on a clear track,” she said Thursday on a conference call with reporters. Michael Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods at the F.D.A., said, “We have solid evidence showing the need for today’s action on trans fat.” Partially hydrogenated oils are cheaper than saturated animal fats like butter, and for years were thought to be healthier. They are formed when liquid oil is treated with hydrogen gas and made solid. They became popular in fried and baked goods and in margarine. Crisco, originally marketed in the beginning of the 20th century, was the archetype, although it now contains no trans fat. But over the years, scientific evidence has shown they are dangerous because they raise the levels of so-called bad cholesterol and can lower the levels of good cholesterol. In 2003, the F.D.A. required that artificial trans fats be listed on food labels, a shift that prompted many large producers to eliminate them. Two years later, New York City under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg told restaurants to stop using artificial trans fats in cooking; other places, including California, Cleveland and Philadelphia, followed suit. Many major chains, like McDonald’s, found substitutes and eliminated trans fats. Those actions led to a stunning reduction in consumption: Americans ate about one gram a day last year, down from 4.6 grams in 2006. A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that blood levels of trans fatty acids among white adults in the United States declined by 58 percent from 2000 to 2009. But the fats were not banned. They are required to be listed on food labels only if there is more than half a gram per serving, a trace amount that can add up. Even as little as two or three grams of trans fat a day can increase the health risk, scientists say. (Some trans fats occur naturally. The F.D.A. proposal applies only to those that are added to foods.) “The artery is still half clogged,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the director of the disease centers, who led the charge against the fats in New York when he was health commissioner there. Scientists emphasized that saturated fats are still an enormous problem in the American diet, and that Thursday’s ruling should not give consumers false security. Poster Comment: I will link Page 2 in my next comment. ;) Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
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www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/health/fda-trans-fats.html? pagewanted=2&_r=0&emc=edit_na_20131107 "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
Saturated fats are still a necessary nutrient. There are also four categories of cholesterol, LDL, MLDL, MHDL, and HDL. "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
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