The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday took a first step toward potentially eliminating most trans fat from the food supply, saying it has made a preliminary determination that a major source of trans fats -- partially hydrogenated oils -- is no longer "generally recognized as safe."
Trans fat intake among American consumers decreased from 4.6 grams per day in 2003 to about a gram a day in 2012, according to the FDA.
There is no safe level of consumption of trans fat, Hamburg said. It has been shown to raise the "bad," or LDL, cholesterol.
While food manufacturers and restaurants have voluntarily lowered the trans-fats in the last ten years, that's not enough for the FDA and other food nannies. Some of the common foods affected will be donuts, crackers, popcorn, frozen pizza, creamers, and canned frosting.
CNN notes that the Center for Science in the Public Interest has been pushing a campaign to get the FDA to prohibit trans fats for a long time now. This is a strange twist - CSPI was one of the groups that, in the 1980s, pushed American consumers to substitute trans fats in their diet for saturated fats.
Recommended
In the 1980s, responding to the connection that medical authoritiesmade between saturated fats and heart disease, CSPI and another activistorganization, the National Heart Savers Association (NHSA), campaignedvigorously against corporations’ use of saturated fats, endorsing trans fatsas a healthy, or healthier, alternative.
CSPI would try to convince you that they've finally got the science right and that the FDA's disruption to the food and restaurant industry would be a noble and worthy pursuit this time rather than merely allow Americans to moderate their diets on their own.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member