Trans fats, also known as partially hydrogenated oils, are no longer "generally recognised as safe", said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The regulator said a ban could prevent 7,000 deaths and 20,000 heart attacks in the US each year.
The FDA is opening a 60-day consultation period on the plan, which would gradually phase out trans fats.
"While consumption of potentially harmful artificial trans fat has declined over the last two decades in the United States, current intake remains a significant public health concern," FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburgsaid in a statement.
"The FDA's action today is an important step toward protecting more Americans from the potential dangers of trans fat."
If the agency's plan is successful, the heart-clogging oils would be considered food additives and could not be used in food unless officially approved.
The ruling does not affect foods with naturally occurring trans fats, which are present in small amounts in certain meat and dairy products.
More on this story here.
Eddie
3 comments:
what a joke -- most of the trans fats Americans eat these days probably come from those that industrial seed oils form when they're heated. so they remove tiny amounts that still linger in processed grocery foods? big deal.
Hi Tess your post came through on an email but not to the blog, hence me posting it up, most unusual. Maybe that old fool Graham accidentaly deleted it !
Kind regards Eddie
"Hi Tess your post came through on an email but not to the blog, hence me posting it up, most unusual. Maybe that old fool Graham accidentaly deleted it !"
Come on Eddie tell the truth you know what happens when you hit the vino during the day, in your inebriated state you will have deleted Tess's comment yourself!
Graham
Still, it is a progress. I remember, how the LC dietitian told in one of her comments how her colleague was reported to the professional board for advising her patients to eat butter, not margarine. The insanity can't be stopped all at once,unfortunately. Banning margarine is the stop in the right direction. However, I don't think I will see in my life time any measures against grain oils.
Post a Comment