TRANS FAT WAR'S FIRST VICTORY FOOD: HEALTH LEGISLATION FOOD: HEALTH

0 Comments | Sunday Herald, The, Dec 10, 2006 | by Judith Duffy, Health Correspondent

A typical serving of breakfast cereal would contain 6g of fat, including 2g of saturated fat and 1g of trans fat.

A typical helping of cake would contain 16g of fat, including 3.5g of saturated fat and 4.5g of trans fat.

A typical serving of margarine would contain 11g of fat, including 2g of saturated fat and 3g of trans fat.

A typical serving of doughnuts would contain 18g of fat, including 4.5g of saturated fat and 5g of trans fat.

A typical chocolate bar would contain 10g of fat, including 4g of saturated fat and 3g of trans fat.

A typical serving of ice cream would contain 12g of fat, including 8g of saturated fat and 3g of trans fat.

A typical serving of crisps would contain 11g of fat, including 2g of saturated fat and 3g of trans fat.

(SOURCES: US Dept of Agriculture/ US Food and Drug Administration)

NEED TO KNOW

THE FACTS

Last Tuesday, the New York City Board of Health voted to force the city's 24,000 restaurants and food outlets to keep to a limit of 0.5 grams of trans fats in any item served from their menu.

BACKGROUND Trans fats became an increasing part of our diet in the latter half of the 20th century as food manufacturers used them as a cheap way to extend the shelf life and enhance the taste of foods, but a number of studies have linked them to coronary heart disease. In 2003, Denmark became the first country to introduce laws to control the sale of foods containing trans fats. In other countries, including Canada and America, food labels must list the amount of trans fats.

NEED TO KNOW MORE?

www. eatwell. gov. uk Information from the Food Standards Agency on trans fats.

www. tfx. org. uk Campaign against trans fats in foods.