May 16, 2015
Over the past decade, the use of trans fat by food manufacturers has been cut back 85 percent, as health regulators deemed it unsafe for human consumption at the levels previously permitted.
Some time in the next week, acting on the Obama administration's public health mission, the Food and Drug Administration could take existing trans fat restrictions a step further with a general ban on the ingredient, still used in a wide variety of foods from Reese's Pieces to frozen pizza, Politico reports.
Partially hydrogenated oils in trans fat, long preferred by food manufacturers to improve products' shelf life and texture, have gradually been phased out, but a ban would have a significant impact on companies that use it for a range of minor, yet technically important purposes -- not least, the sprinkles on your ice cream cone.
While the food industry believes low levels of trans fat are safe, studies linking its consumption to cardiovascular disease and premature deaths have made it an engine of litigation both privately and against the FDA.
The matter may come to a head on May 22, the date indicated by a recent court document for an update on the decision. While any ban would likely take a few years to go into effect, the details ironed out between the food industry and the FDA will clarify remaining safety concerns to better balance the demands of consumer health and food production.
Read more at Politico.
