It’s Official: Artificial Trans Fat Is Going Away And Never Coming Back
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It’s time to officially say goodbye to this artery-clogging, heart disease-inducing ingredient. As of Monday, June 18, artificial trans fats (more commonly known as partially hydrogenated oils and the reason frozen pizza and deep fried donuts taste so good) are now formally banned from all grocery stores and restaurants in the United States.
Back in 2015, the Food and Drug Administration ruled partially hydrogenated oils as unsafe to eat and began eliminating them from the American diet. Since then, U.S. food manufacturers have felt the pressure of strict deadlines to remake recipes and phase out the use of these ingredients from their food production methods. And now, we can finally and confidently say that artificial trans fats are leaving and never coming back.
Partially hydrogenated oils were once heralded as both logical and delicious, thanks to their cheap manufacturing price and long shelf life. At one point, margarine was even promoted as the healthier, better alternative to butter, which has since been debunked. However, since the early 1990s, nutrition researchers and public health officials have advocated against the use of artificial trans fats in food due to the strong correlation to increases in “bad” cholesterol, risks of developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes, and chances of suffering a stroke.
“Artificial trans fats are made in an industrial process that injects hydrogen atoms into molecules of vegetable fat, changing their chemical structure,” Michael F. Jacobson, the former executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told The Washington Post. “For reasons scientists don’t entirely understand, these altered molecules prompt the body to produce more bad cholesterol. Ridding the food supply of partially hydrogenated oils will save tens of thousands of lives each year.”
Trans fat consumption has dramatically decreased over the past decade due to heightened awareness and public health advocacy. In 2006, the FDA passed a decision that forced companies to disclose artificial trans fats information on all product labels, which may be why the term is ringing a bell.
According to Brian Kennedy, a Grocery Manufacturers Association spokesperson, food companies made immense strides between 2015 and 2018, removing 98 percent of trans fat from the food supply. However, due to the complications in recipe redesign, some companies have pushed the FDA to allow the use of trans fats in a limited line of products, such as grease pans and taste enhancers. The FDA then granted these companies one more year to find a replacement. The administration will allow products that were previously high in trans fat some time to fade out of the market, but the creation of new food with similar characteristics is officially banned forever.
Back in 2015, the FDA estimated that this ban would cost the food industry at least $6 billion over the next 20 years. However, that number pales in comparison to the estimated $130 billion in savings that will result from avoided medical care costs.
Other countries seem to be following suit. As of last Monday, the World Health Organization released a plan to eradicate artificial trans fat from the global food supply by 2023, which could potentially save more than 10 million lives.
So let’s cheers to a world filled with better-quality food options that actually nourish our bodies rather than breaking them down. See ya never, artificial trans fat. You won’t be missed.
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