Tracking the TFA threat - trans fatty acids

Vegetarian Times, Dec, 1995

Vegetarians who choose margarine over butter because it is lower in saturated fat may not be doing themselves such a big favor. Research suggesting that trans fatty acid (TFAs) in margarine also raise the risk of heart disease. That's why consumer groups are calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require TFA labels on foods. But that's not likely to happen, because some experts say the research is inconclusive, and nutritionists should choose their labeling battles more carefully.

TFAs are produced when oil is chemically altered to make it more solid at room temperature. The chemical process, known as hydrogenation, increases the shelf life of foods such as margarine and other vegetable oil spreads, crackers and cookies. In general, the more solid a vegetable oil product is, the greater the TFA level (tub margarine has fewer TFAs than stick). But because labeling doesn't make this dear, "a lot of vegetarians don't have the information they need to make informed decisions about unhealthy fat, " says Margo Wootan, senior staff scientist at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Recent articles in The New England Journal of Medicine and The American Journal of clinical Nutrition suggest that hydrogenation turns heart-healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats into cholesterol-raising fats. And the National Institutes of Health's heart, lung and blood program advises people at risk for coronary disease to limit their intake of TFAs in addition to saturated fat.

But other experts think the call for new labels is premature. "We're saying go slow on labeling, because the information [on TFA] is far from adequate," says Joyce Nettleton, a spokesperson for the Chicago-based Institute of Food Technologists. The American Society for Clinical Nutrition and the American Institute of Nutrition, in a petition to the FDA, advise against costly labeling changes because there is no data on how much TFA the average American eats, and labeling may encourage unwise alternative choices.

Current laws require food producers to disclose the amount of total fat and saturated fat. Consumer groups are calling for a label that includes TFA with saturated fat, "to make it easier on food producers who don't want to reformat their labels, " Wootan says. An FDA spokesperson says the agency is looking into the issue, and acknowledges that some food companies do take advantage of the loophole by lowering saturated fat in foods and increasing TFAs.