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FDA proposes adding trans fat info to food labels
Posted
11-22-99 Washington. In response to increasing scientific evidence that a type of fat found in some margarine and baked goods raises the risk of heart disease, the Food and Drug Administration announced plans Nov. 12 to require food manufacturers to include specific information about the fat on nutrition labels. The regulation covering the fat, called trans fatty acids, or just trans fat, would be the first significant change to the content of nutrition labels since the agency began requiring them in 1993. Nutrition experts say the labels are important because trans fat, which is liquid oil that has been turned into a solid, is even more harmful than saturated fat. Nutrition experts say the labeling is needed because current labels make it hard for consumers to evaluate how much trans fat a product contains. Under the proposed labeling, the listing for saturated fat would have to include the amount of trans fat. An asterisk would indicate that trans fat is included, with a footnote telling consumers how many grams are in each serving. Until now, the only way consumers could determine whether their food contained trans fat was to look for the word "hydrogenated" in the ingredients. "Trans fat is a phantom fat in our food; people don't know they are eating it," said Margo Wootan, senior scientist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which first petitioned to add trans fat to labels in 1994. Officials from the food manufacturing industry are taking a cautious approach. "The National Food Processors Association will be studying the proposed rules closely, and we look forward to working with the FDA to see that the changes are truthful, useful, and understandable to consumers," said Rhona Applebaum, executive vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs for the association.
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