The Grocery Manufacturers Association petitioned the FDA to allow specific low-level uses of trans fats, formally known as partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), as a food additive. The petition follows the agency’s announcement of a phase-out of artificial trans fats, which included the option for the industry to request permission to use PHOs in limited circumstances. The industry says it wants to use PHOs as food and flavor carriers and “to deliver certain consumer-desired textural characteristics that other oils cannot provide,” such as flaky doughs. PHOs also keep food from sticking to baking pans and rollers. GMA says its proposed use of artificial trans fats are “as safe as the naturally occurring trans fat present in the diet.”
Politico says the industry wants to use PHOs “in at least 50 product categories, from tiny amounts in tea bags to more significant levels in fruit snacks and the breading on chicken products. Even broader uses are being sought for flavorings and colors. The Center for Science in the Public Interest says, “If all foods contained as much trans fat as the petition requests, people would be consuming about as much artificial trans fat as they are now.”
The FDA set a three-year phase-out of artificial trans fats in motion on June 16, saying “the current intake level remains a public health concern.” Trans fats have been linked to higher cholesterol in the blood stream and increased risk of heart disease. Consumption of trans fats has fallen by 78 percent since 2006, when the agency required foodmakers to list them on the Nutrition Facts label. Food companies have reformulated products and consumers have shunned foods with high levels of trans fats.