Sunday, March 18, 2007
Trans Fat Awareness
Fascinating fyi from Cook’s Illustrated letters column. The Clarion had wondered about this very issue. Their reader wrote something along the lines of, “Hydrogenated oil is the primary source of trans fat. How can I purchase items with partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredient list and the label reads no trans fats?”
The answer from Cook’s Illustrated, without the Clarion’s frustrated "WTF!!" read something like, “Well the FDA has mandated labeling declaring trans fat content. But the FDA rule states the amount of trans fat is rounded to the nearest 1/2 gram. If a given item has less than a 1/2 of a gram of trans fat per serving, it can be labeled, ‘0 grams of trans fat’ though this is not a guarantee that it is, indeed, free of the fatty acids.”
Cook's Illustrated seems neither astounded, nor horrofied by this. Even as one accustomed to the “Good enough for Government” work ethic, you have got to be kidding! The FDA has set up the system so that anything with less than .5 grams of trans fat per serving can be labeled “Trans fat free!!?” Even though, by the way, it is not! Hope, that isn’t too bad for your cholesterol, Jane and John Consumer.
The FDA hasn’t exactly trumpeted this nonsense as public knowledge so one might be aware of these misleading labels. The item the Cook's Illustrated reader noticed the issue on was potato chips. The Clarion had issue with flour tortillas. Saw the partially hydrogenated soybean oil on the ingredient list, but the package was labeled, “No trans fat” so it went into the shopping cart. Misleading, isn’t strong enough verbiage, pure garbage.
Here's the low down.
Lies, damn lies and government statistics.
Truth in advertising, our collective behind.
Buyer beware, once more, if you think you are being scammed, you probably are.
Thanks again to Cook’s Illustrated for the hot tip.
The answer from Cook’s Illustrated, without the Clarion’s frustrated "WTF!!" read something like, “Well the FDA has mandated labeling declaring trans fat content. But the FDA rule states the amount of trans fat is rounded to the nearest 1/2 gram. If a given item has less than a 1/2 of a gram of trans fat per serving, it can be labeled, ‘0 grams of trans fat’ though this is not a guarantee that it is, indeed, free of the fatty acids.”
Cook's Illustrated seems neither astounded, nor horrofied by this. Even as one accustomed to the “Good enough for Government” work ethic, you have got to be kidding! The FDA has set up the system so that anything with less than .5 grams of trans fat per serving can be labeled “Trans fat free!!?” Even though, by the way, it is not! Hope, that isn’t too bad for your cholesterol, Jane and John Consumer.
The FDA hasn’t exactly trumpeted this nonsense as public knowledge so one might be aware of these misleading labels. The item the Cook's Illustrated reader noticed the issue on was potato chips. The Clarion had issue with flour tortillas. Saw the partially hydrogenated soybean oil on the ingredient list, but the package was labeled, “No trans fat” so it went into the shopping cart. Misleading, isn’t strong enough verbiage, pure garbage.
Here's the low down.
Lies, damn lies and government statistics.
Truth in advertising, our collective behind.
Buyer beware, once more, if you think you are being scammed, you probably are.
Thanks again to Cook’s Illustrated for the hot tip.
Labels: Practical Advice
Comments:
This ought not to be a surprise. the FDA's coziness with the industries it regulates follows the pattern of such things. the more an industry is affected by such a body, the more effort (money, lobbyists, etc.) it will exert to influence said regulatory body.
In all honesty, less than 0.5 grams of trans fat is probably no big issue. But this "sloppiness" combined with other such weakened standards can lead one down a slippery slope to outright lies. For instance, lack of strictness on appropriate selection of serving size, combined with the half-gram-transfat rule could easily lead you to consume more transfats than you intended. And even if the serving size is appropriately selected, how much trans fat is in the entire container? Presumably the entire bag of chips will be eaten at some point. Say there are 20 servings in it. That means there could be 10 grams of transfat, in the bag, which could legally be labeled "no trans fat." This is the peril of not preparing ones own food, I suppose. And of trusting a regulatory agency to be free from the influence of those it is set to regulate. Who will guard the guards themselves?
In all honesty, less than 0.5 grams of trans fat is probably no big issue. But this "sloppiness" combined with other such weakened standards can lead one down a slippery slope to outright lies. For instance, lack of strictness on appropriate selection of serving size, combined with the half-gram-transfat rule could easily lead you to consume more transfats than you intended. And even if the serving size is appropriately selected, how much trans fat is in the entire container? Presumably the entire bag of chips will be eaten at some point. Say there are 20 servings in it. That means there could be 10 grams of transfat, in the bag, which could legally be labeled "no trans fat." This is the peril of not preparing ones own food, I suppose. And of trusting a regulatory agency to be free from the influence of those it is set to regulate. Who will guard the guards themselves?
# posted by 
: 3/23/2007 12:13 PM
: 3/23/2007 12:13 PM
Fascinating take, Manu "the more an industry is affected by such a body, the more effort (money, lobbyists, etc.) it will exert to influence said regulatory body."
The first instinct at this desk is to ask questions along the lines of, where does that leave democracy or capitalism as systems?
But let's start with a smaller, if not simpler, question. Where does that leave America and Americans living in such a system?
Are Americans in such a Social Darwinist milieu that one simply has to expect that the actor with the most money will be able to bend the rules of the American government in their favor?
Is this at the root of the widening disparity between America's richest and poorest citizens?
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The first instinct at this desk is to ask questions along the lines of, where does that leave democracy or capitalism as systems?
But let's start with a smaller, if not simpler, question. Where does that leave America and Americans living in such a system?
Are Americans in such a Social Darwinist milieu that one simply has to expect that the actor with the most money will be able to bend the rules of the American government in their favor?
Is this at the root of the widening disparity between America's richest and poorest citizens?
