Trans-fat riddle

How can junk-food makers label goods laden with partically hydrogenated oil

Posted by Tom Philpott at 1:07 PM on 13 Jan 2006

Read more about: food | health | Food and Drug Administration

Long a staple of industrial food processors, partially hydrogenated oils are widely known to have health-ruining effects.

After decades of looking the other way as study after study emerged documenting this phenomenon, the FDA is finally making moves to at least encourage consumers to avoid them. The industry is already retrenching, removing the vile stuff from popular junk-food products, often heralded by a "0 Grams Trans Fat" label on the package.

Restaurant chains such as McDonalds' own Chipotle Grill have followed suit. Archer-Daniels Midland and Monsanto have even forged an evil alliance to market a genetically altered, trans-fat-free soybean oil that mimics some of the properties manufacturers have come to love about partially hydrogenated oil.

Yet does any of this mean anything at all?

I ask because many potato/corn chip labels I've seen declare "trans fat free" in one place and then casually list partially hydrogenated oil on their ingredient lists. Don't believe me? Check this out.

From what I can tell, when a fat has undergone partial hydrogenation -- making it solid at higher temperatures, mimicking that grand and blameless ingredient, butter -- it becomes a trans fat. For practical purposes, trans fat and partially hydrogenated oil are synonymous.

How do they get away with it?

For story: Trans-fat riddle
5 Comments | Post a Comment

Trans-fat riddle solved

Tom: Frito-Lay's trick lies in its exclusion of trans-fats from its chips, but not from its seasoning. Look at the ingredients of all of its non-flavored chips: no non-hydrogenated oils. (Hydrogenationg is the process that created a "tras-link in the oil fat chain). I suppose I'm an expert on this subject since I worked for about a year as an engineer at a Frito-Lay plant, and then went on to teach organic chemistry at a university.

I am a total health food nut, as you know, but I do not share you anger at these companies. I believe that they give the people what the people want. "The people" generally want mediocrity. Yet progress procedes unabated. We health nuts have more choices than ever. I can even buy and eat Frito-Lay products now... just not those with seasoning (trans oils are just one of many deplorable frankenstien molecules in the FL seasonong). FL even now has a natural line, which uses organic ingredients, and even all-natch flavorings.

The people have all the information at its disposal, if they are interested.

by paulhue at 8:37 PM on 13 Jan 2006

yeah, but...

... how can they say "0 grams trans fat," then put trans fat in their seasoning? Are they rounding down to get zero?

Victual Reality

by Tom Philpott at 9:18 PM on 13 Jan 2006

Meaning Of All This

"Yet does any of this mean anything at all?" Not really. Processed food is unhealthy, period. Sure, things like chips can be made to be more or less unhealthy, but people don't eat those "foods" with a consideration toward health. We eat them because those things unnaturally overstimulate our taste buds, causing our brains to crave them while our bodies simultaneously abhor them. Of course, you can always buy organic chips from health food stores if you're worried about this trans fats or the like.

Jeff Hoffman

by jdhlax at 8:01 AM on 14 Jan 2006

Rounding Down

Yes, they can round down to 0 if the amount per serving is less than 0.5 - all they have to do is fiddle with the serving size. Who on earth eats 11 chips?

by redjenny at 1:52 PM on 19 Jan 2006
[ Parent ]

2 chips.

I do jen, I ate 2 chips yesterday. I was disgusted after the first one, but did not restrain myself until after the second one.

Then I ate a krispy creme, but only after burning 500 calories skiing. Deadly donuts!

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

by amazingdrx at 4:39 AM on 20 Jan 2006
[ Parent ]

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