Trans fats down but not out

[Guest guest]

> Trans fats down but not out

> By Kim Severson

>

> The fight over the amount of trans fat in America's diet is hotter than

> ever -- both on supermarket shelves and in the halls of the federal

> government.

>

> A food advocacy group petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to

> completely ban food made with trans fat. That would spell an end to

> plenty of products that use partially hydrogenated vegetable oils -- the

> substance that contains unhealthy trans fats.

>

> Producers of cookies, crackers, microwave popcorn and most supermarket

> cakes make regular use of shortening and other forms of partially

> hydrogenated oils because they extend shelf life and add crispness or

> creaminess, depending on the product. The fat also is bubbling in most

> deep-fat fryers at fast-food and family-style restaurants.

>

> Nutritionists and lipid researchers agree that the artificially produced

> trans fat is the most dangerous fat in the food supply, increasing bad

> cholesterol levels faster than saturated fat and interfering with the

> body's metabolic process. The National Academies' Institute of Medicine

> last year concluded that there is no safe level of trans fat in the

> diet.

>

> Food manufacturers don't have to disclose trans fat amounts on food

> labels until 2006, when a new federal law kicks in.

>

> That deadline has already had a strong effect on the market, with major

> food processors such as Frito-Lay and Oreo maker Kraft searching for

> substitutes so they don't have to list trans fat on their packages.

> Earlier this spring, 's introduced a version of its Pepperidge

> Farms Goldfish crackers without trans fat. Within the next couple of

> weeks, Crisco, a product that became synonymous with the unhealthy fat,

> will be available in a trans-fat-free version.

>

> Still, the Center for Science in the Public Interest says this isn't

> enough. The consumer group, which started the effort to require

> trans-fat labeling in the 1990s, jumped back into the battle in May and

> asked the FDA to ban the fat.

>

> " There has been more and more evidence indicating that trans fat is much

> worse than was thought originally, " says son, CSPI

> executive director. " There is no need to have this noxious fat in the

> food supply. We're saying treat this as a substance that causes

> tremendous harm, probably tens of thousands of deaths a year. "

>

> Food manufacturers immediately criticized the request for the ban as the

> wrong way to address the problem.

>

> " Nutrition experts -- including the FDA -- have called for consumers to

> choose diets low in trans fats, not to eliminate them, " says Regina

> Hildwine, a spokeswoman for the National Food Processors Association.

> She adds that efforts to eliminate trans fats might lead consumers to

> replace trans fats with more saturated fats, which can also lead to

> heart disease.

>

> son says his group didn't ask for an all-out ban a decade ago when

> the request for better trans fat labeling went to the FDA because it

> wasn't clear that any good alternatives existed. But all that's changed.

>

> " It's quite clear it can be replaced in every function. There are safer

> substitutes, " he says.

>

> The new trans-fat-free Crisco is one of those examples. The product,

> which parent company J.M. Smucker says can be used just like original

> Crisco, is made from fully hydrogenated cottonseed oil. Original Crisco

> has four grams of trans fat per tablespoon. Completely hydrogenating

> oil -- a process that changes the chemical composition of vegetable oil

> by using heat and a metal catalyst -- eliminates trans fat but makes a

> fat that is so hard it is impossible to cook with. To soften it, the

> maker of Crisco blends it with sunflower and soybean oil.

>

> Tests in The Chronicle kitchen found that the new Crisco does perform

> almost the same as original Crisco. It doesn't look the same, exactly.

> The new product is not as soft or glossy, and has a starker white color.

>

> We compared pie doughs made with each Crisco. The one made with the

> trans-fat-free shortening was a little stiffer, but slightly easier to

> work with.

>

> The blind-baked crusts weren't that different, but the trans-fat-free

> Crisco version was a little more cracker-like. The beauty of using

> Crisco is that it is more forgiving than butter when making a pie crust

> and can offer a sturdier crust -- helpful if your recipe calls for a

> soupier filling. The problem is people wrongly believe Crisco is a

> healthier option than butter. The new trans-fat-free version is a

> solution.

>

> The best of both worlds -- manageability and flavor -- may be best

> achieved using half butter and half trans-fat-free shortening.

>