Politics & Government

FDA Targets Trans Fat in Processed Foods

Measure would remove artificially manufactured fats from ingredients' lists

By Liz Taurasi

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to ban trans fat in the country’s food supply.

A proposed regulation issued Thursday would remove artificially manufactured fats from its list of ingredients, “generally recognized as safe.”

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FDA officials found that even though the agency’s 2006 requirement of labeling the amount of trans fat on Nutritional Facts because of public health concerns, there are still many processed foods made with partially hydrogenated oils - the biggest dietary source of trans fat in processed foods.

Baked goods and frozen foods are some of the popular processed foods that contain PHOs, which have been widely used as ingredients since the 1950s to increase shelf-life or add flavor stability to foods, according to the FDA’s website.

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In a statement released Thursday on its website, the FDA has now tentatively determined PHOs are not “generally recognized as safe” for any use in food based on current research that shows the health risks associated with consuming trans fat. They are, therefore, food additives. And while the FDA has not listed the most commonly used PHOs, officials say they have been used for years based on industry self-determinations that the use of them is generally recognized as safe.

If finalized, food manufacturers wouldn’t be able to sell PHOs either directly or as ingredients for other food products without prior FDA approval for use as a food additive.


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