trans fats
A ‘cold plasma’ way to avoid trans fats in hydrogenated soybean oil
Two researchers from Purdue developed a hydrogenation process to solidify soybean oil for use in foods without creating trans fats, which can raise cholesterol and lead to heart disease and diabetes. The FDA started a three-year phase-out in 2015 of partially hydrogenated oils from the food supply.
The man who helped put Nutrition Facts on food changes roles
The director or co-director of the consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest for 45 years, Michael Jacobson, 73, will change jobs next September to become CSPI's chief scientist. Jacobson was active in campaigns to put the Nutrition Facts label on packaged foods, to eliminate trans fats from processed foods and to force the government to set guidelines on salt in food.
In India, diabetes rises as stunting declines
High sugar and trans-fats in Indian food are turning the world’s second most populous country diabetic, while child malnutrition in the region is slowly retreating, the 2016 Global Nutrition Report said. The study found that diabetes, a deficiency that inhibits the body to effectively use insulin, affects 9.5 percent of India’s population, putting it ahead of the U.K. and the U.S., and on par with China. Furthermore, 2 percent of deaths in all age groups in India are a result of diabetes, the WHO said.
The replacements for trans fats ‘have their own problems’
The FDA's announcement of a three-year phase out of most uses of trans fats, usually present in foods as partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), may not be the end of the story, says Time. The replacements for PHOs "have their own problems."
Food industry asks FDA to allow low levels of trans fats
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.
FDA sets three-year phase-out for trans fats in food
Foodmakers will have three years to phase out the use of partially hydrogenated oils, the primary source of artificial trans fats, said the Food and Drug Administration. The agency said "a thorough review of the scientific evidence" showed the materials should not be part of the diet. The agency tentatively ruled in 2013 that artificial trans fats should be banned. It said it finalized that determination after considering public comments on the issue.
U.S. ban on trans fats may open doors for Canadian canola
The FDA order to foodmakers to phase out artificial trans fats "will create opportunities for Canada's canola sector, especially high oleic varieties," says Commodity News Service Canada.
New White House nutrition advisor must be ready to rumble
With the departure of nutrition policy advisor Sam Kass, who also was personal chef for the Obama family, the administration "is set to lose its behind-the-scenes food policy general at the end of the month, right as a Republican Congress plans an assault...
Fat, salt and calories stay high at fast-food outlets
Forget about super-sizing. Portion size at three major fast-food chains changed little from 1996-2013, say researchers at Tufts. In a pair of reports, they say sodium, fat and calorie totals "stayed relatively constant albeit at high levels," according to a Tufts release.