The art of relaying science-based yet easy-to-understand information to consumers is nothing new to nutrition communicators. However, delivering information about trans fat poses more of a challenge than usual.
To help reduce risk for coronary heart disease (CHD), health experts recommend consuming less trans fat (as well as saturated fat and cholesterol). To help consumers achieve this goal, food companies are working to reduce trans fat in the food supply. In addition, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that, by January 1, 2006, the Nutrition Facts panel on packaged foods list the grams of trans fat per serving of the product.
Many food companies have voluntarily begun to display the trans fat content on their labels. But for products not yet so labeled, it's not always easy to figure out whether they contain trans fat and, if so, how much. In addition, some traditional advice about how to determine the presence of trans fat is sometimes confusing.
Many consumers' questions about trans fat will be answered when the new labeling regulations take effect. Until then, the questions and answers below can help nutrition communicators translate the facts about trans fat.
Q What is trans fat and where is it found?
A Trans fat is created when hydrogen molecules are added to unsaturated (liquid) oils during the process called “hydrogenation.” Hydrogenation causes some double bonds in fatty acid chains to take on “trans” configurations (as opposed to naturally occurring “cis” configurations), which result in a more solid and stable fat. In addition, very small (nutritionally insignificant) amounts of trans fat may be generated in liquid vegetable oils when they are subjected to very high temperatures during the final processing step of refinement (deodorization). Trans fat is not generated under normal conditions of cooking or frying with liquid oils.
Products made using currently available partially hydrogenated vegetable oils contain trans fat (fully hydrogenated oils do not contain trans fat — more on that below.) These products include vegetable shortenings, harder stick margarines, crackers, candies, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, and baked goods.
Some meats and dairy products naturally contain small amounts of trans fat.
Q How did partially hydrogenated oils come to be used in the food supply?
A Years ago, animal fats such as lard, tallow, and butter were predominantly used in the food supply for baking and frying. However, when scientists determined that consuming saturated fat and cholesterol raised LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, and therefore, the risk of CHD, companies looked for alternatives to these fat and oil sources. Partially hydrogenated oils provided comparable functional properties such as taste, texture, and stability and were lower in saturated fat. At the time, scientific data did not indicate negative health effects from consuming trans fat.
Studies since then have shown that consuming either saturated fat or trans fat raises the risk for CHD. Now, food companies are seeking alternatives to currently available partially hydrogenated oils that offer more healthful fatty acid profiles along with the functional properties that consumers expect.
Q Does the word “hydrogenated” in the ingredients list mean that the product contains trans fat?
A Not always. When trans fat does not appear on the Nutrition Facts label, consumers are typically advised to look for the words “hydrogenated” and “partially hydrogenated” in the ingredients list to infer that a product contains trans fat. However, this advice is only partially correct. Partially hydrogenated oils do contain some amount of trans fat, but fully hydrogenated oils become predominantly saturated fats and do not contain trans fat.
Q Can you tell how much trans fat is in a product when partially hydrogenated oil appears in the ingredients list, but the grams of trans fat aren't yet listed on the Nutrition Facts label?
A No. The amount of trans fat in a product is highly variable and is dependent on the degree of hydrogenation. Therefore, the mere presence of partially hydrogenated oil in the ingredients list does not tell you how much trans fat is in a product.
Until the new labeling regulations take effect on January 1, 2006, you can determine how much trans fat a product contains only when a food company voluntarily lists the grams of trans fat on the Nutrition Facts label or provides this information through a Web site, customer service phone number, or other means.
Q I saw a product labeled “0 grams trans fat,” but it included partially hydrogenated oil in the ingredients list. Was this a mistake?
A No, and a brief lesson on food labeling makes it clear why this is possible. According to FDA labeling regulations, when a product contains less than 0.5 grams per serving of certain nutrients such as total fat, saturated fat or sugars, the amount of these nutrients is considered nutritionally insignificant, and therefore is expressed as “0 grams” on the Nutrition Facts label.
Although FDA hasn't yet issued a final rule on using nutrient content claims for trans fat, companies are following labeling regulations used for other nutrients as models. So, when you see a product that contains partially hydrogenated oil labeled “0 grams trans fat,” it means the product contains less than 0.5 grams trans fat per serving.
Q How can a product containing partially hydrogenated oil contain so little trans fat?
A One reason is that many companies are using reformulated (less hydrogenated) fats and oils that are much lower in trans fat, but that are “partially hydrogenated” by regulatory definition, and must be labeled as such.
Another reason is that partially hydrogenated oils often are used at such low levels in food products that they don't contribute a significant amount of trans fat to the product.
Ingredients in a food product are listed in descending order of predominance by weight. Typically, the first three to five ingredients are present in higher amounts and the remaining ingredients are present in much smaller amounts. Some ingredient lists include a statement such as “contains less than two percent of the following...” to identify ingredients present at low levels.
When small amounts of partially hydrogenated oils are added to foods or seasonings to improve blending and extend freshness, they appear near the end of the ingredients list and contribute very little or even no trans fat, per serving.
Teaching about Trans Fat: Cues from Consumer Research
The International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation recently conducted qualitative research to investigate consumers' understanding of trans fat. Key findings include:
- Consumers negatively view products containing hydrogenated oils, but don't necessarily equate partially hydrogenated oils with trans fat.
- They don't understand the difference between partially hydrogenated oils and fully hydrogenated oils.
- When presented with the label footnote, “trans fat intake should be as low as possible,” consumers largely tried to avoid foods containing trans fat in favor of foods containing much higher amounts of saturated fat.
These findings suggest that nutrition communicators may wish to take the following actions to help consumers better understand trans fat:
- Use clear and simple language to discuss the different types of dietary fats and to define terms such as trans fat and hydrogenation.
- Clarify that partially hydrogenated oils contain some trans fat, but fully hydrogenated oils do not.
- Put trans fat into perspective so consumers don't focus attention on one nutrient at the expense of an overall balanced diet.
- Prepare now to help consumers understand the January 1, 2006 addition of trans fat to the Nutrition Facts label — it's sure to be big news!
For more information, access the FDA fact sheet, “Trans Fat Now Listed With Saturated Fat and Cholesterol on the Food Label” at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/transfat.html.
