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Scientific evidence shows trans fat increases the incidence of coronary heart disease. In fact, there is no known safe level of trans fat consumption. While people are becoming increasingly aware of the heart-health risks associated with trans fat, our consumption of saturated and trans fat is very high.

 

 

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An overview of the health implications of identified trans fat alternatives through an assessment of the health benefits and risks of each alternative and an evaluation of the ability of alternatives to meet quality and consumer acceptance needs for various product applications

 

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Who is BanTransFats.com?

 

  • We are the organization that launched the national and international trans fat campaign by suing Kraft in 2003 to eliminate trans fat in Oreos.

    Result: Kraft eliminated trans fat from Oreos and reduced or eliminated it in about 650 other products.

    The Oreo lawsuit had a huge "domino" effect. The publicity that the lawsuit received created public awareness about the trans fat issue and triggered an avalanche of events including the FDA labeling rule.

  • We are the organization that sued McDonald's in 2003 for misleading its customers into believing that it had switched to a lower trans fat cooking oil.

    Result: As a result of the litigation, McDonald's agreed to inform its customers that it had not changed to the lower trans fat cooking oil by placing prominent notices in all of its restaurants nationwide and in the media. It also agreed to pay $7 million to the American Heart Association for a trans fat program.

  • We are the organization that made Tiburon, California "America's first trans fat-free city." Project Tiburon was intended to be an inspiration and model for other towns and cities.

    Result: After we announced the completion of Project Tiburon, we were contacted by New York City officials who wanted to copy the idea. We assisted New York City in developing its program. This led to New York City passing a regulation banning trans fat in December 2006. In February 2007, Philadelphia copied New York City and banned trans fat. Click here for a newspaper article about how Project Tiburon was the basis for the New York City initiative.

    In 2008, the California Legislature passed a statewide partial ban on trans fat which the Governor signed. It takes effect in effect in 2010 and 2011. We provided support to the California Legislature on the bill.

  • We are the organization that is working behind the scenes on a daily basis to help the food industry reduce and eliminate trans fat in our food supply and educate the public about the harmful effects of trans fat.

  • We are the organization that responds to thousands of inquiries about trans fat each year from consumers, restaurant owners, bakeries, and the press.

The U.S. Government position

On January 12, 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. The Guidelines include the following recommendation:

 

Consume 10 percent of calories from saturated fatty acids and less than 300 mg/day of cholesterol, and keep trans fatty acid consumption as low as possible.

The Guidelines also contain the following strong message to the food industry:

 

Because trans fatty acids produced in the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils account for more than 80 percent of total intake, the food industry has an important role in decreasing trans fatty acid content of the food supply.

 

Tommy Thompson, the Secretary of HHS, said at a news conference on the Guidelines on January 12, 2005 that the FDA may recommend that daily intake of trans fat be less than 2 grams, perhaps less than 1 gram. Click here to read the transcript of the news conference. In effect, that would mean totally avoiding any food containing partially hydrogenated oils.

 

In March 2003, Denmark issued new regulations limiting the amount of trans fat in processed foods. Denmark's food minister said: "We put the public health above the industry's interests." Why can't the United States do the same?

 

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will"

The American Heart Association position

In June 2006, the American Heart Association (AHA) issued its "2006 Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations." The recommendations contain a balanced approach to maintaining a healthy diet. The full recommendations are well worth reading as they represent the "state of the art" on nutrition.

 

On the subject of trans fat, the AHA recommends that your daily intake of trans fats be limited to 1 percent of total calories, which is equivalent to roughly 2 to 2.5 grams of trans fat per day. (The AHA also recommends that you limit saturated fat to about 15 to 19 grams per day.)

 

The AHA makes a "high-priority recommendation" that food manufacturers and restaurants replace partially hydrogenated oils with low saturated fat alternatives." We wholeheartedly agree.