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The soft, gooey center of the cookie lawsuit

Men's Fitness, August, 2003

San Francisco lawyer Stephen Joseph made big headlines in May when he sued to ban the sale of a famous sandwich cookie to children because they contained trans fatty acids. Found in many snack foods, trans fats--also known as hydrogenated oil--are hardened vegetable fats that help foods stay fresh longer and give them a smooth or crunchy texture. But in recent years, trans fats have been implicated in heart disease, diabetes and other ailments, and many doctors consider them even more dangerous than the saturated fat found in meat.

While MEN'S FITNESS has counseled you many times to avoid trans fats as much as possible, Joseph says that most people aren't aware of the issue. We talked to him about the suit and its aftermath.

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A lot of people saw your lawsuit as humorous--after all, you were suing to keep kids from eating cookies. But you say you were trying to make a serious point.

SJ: At the time the lawsuit was filed, very few people knew what trans fats were. They aren't listed on food labels, which is an outrage. And it isn't necessary to have them in [cookies]; other sandwich-style cookies, such as the Newman's Own brand, don't have them.

But then you dropped the suit soon after you had filed it.

SJ: The basis of the lawsuit was that the dangers of trans fats weren't common knowledge. But because of all the media hype, we ended up warning millions of people. At that point, people had no excuse to say they hadn't heard of trans fats.

Now you're petitioning the Food and Drug Administration to require trans-fat content to be listed on food labels.

SJ: That requirement has been delayed until 2006, when it is expected to be fully enforced, and the labels won't have to include a warning that you should eat as little trans fats as possible. I believe that many lives will be lost before then, because people don't know how much of this substance is in their food.

Do you feel you accomplished what you set out to do with your lawsuit?

SJ: In terms of getting the word out, it's been a tremendous success.

NUTRITION TIP FROM MR. OBVIOUS

No matter how much the fat content is lowered, eating an entire bag of cream-filled sugar cookies will never be good for you.

The soft, gooey center of the cookie lawsuit

Men's Fitness, August, 2003

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