Food Industry Must Phase Out Trans Fats Over Next Three Years
While partially hydrogenated oils were once promoted by doctors, the Food and Drug Administration now says the substances clog arteries and are unsafe. Use of artificial trans fats has dropped 78 percent over the last decade but they are still found in products like microwave popcorn, whipped topping and pie crusts. The Washington Post profiles the 100-year-old professor from the University of Illinois who led the charge to ban them.
Bloomberg News:
U.S. Bans Trans Fat In Boost For Palm Oil And Blow For Pie
Artificial trans fat will be removed from the U.S. food supply over the next three years under a ruling by regulators that the products pose health risks that contribute to heart disease. There's no longer a scientific consensus that partially hydrogenated oils, the main source of trans fat, are generally recognized as safe, according to a final decision released Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration. The oils are used for frying and in baked goods as well as in confections. (Edney and Giammona, 6/16)
The Associated Press:
FDA Tells Food Industry To Phase Out Artificial Trans Fats
Popular foods like pie crusts, frostings and microwave popcorn will be largely rid of artery-clogging trans fats after a decision by the Obama administration to phase them out over the next three years. (Jalonick, 6/16)
The Washington Post:
The 100-Year-Old Scientist Who Pushed The FDA To Ban Artificial Trans Fat
No one was more pleased by the Food and Drug Administration's decision Tuesday to eliminate artificial trans fats from the U.S. food supply than Fred Kummerow, a 100-year-old University of Illinois professor who has warned about the dangers of the artery-clogging substance for nearly six decades. (Dennis, 6/16)
The Washington Post:
Why Doctors Used To Love Trans Fats
There’s a bit in the Woody Allen movie “Sleeper” where the protagonist, suddenly revived after being cryogenically frozen for two centuries, requests a bowl of wheat germ and organic honey for breakfast. “Ah yes,” a white coat-clad doctor says, a hint of derision in his voice. “Those were the charmed substances that some years ago were thought to contain life preserving properties.” (Kaplan, 6/17)
