Get ready to reformulate: trans fat may be losing its GRAS status

Trans fats have long been avoided by many consumers. Choice began agitating to have trans fat levels included on labels in Australia in 2005. This still hasn’t happened but now moves afoot in the US may induce Australian regulatory authorities to relook at the trans fat situation.

Trans fat has been linked to an increased risk of coronary heart disease, in which plaque builds up inside the arteries and may cause a heart attack. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that a reduction of trans fat in the US food supply could prevent an additional 7000 deaths from heart disease and up to 20,000 heart attacks each year.

This is even though US manufacturers have been required to declare the amount of trans fat on nutrition facts labels since 2006 and have been reducing trans fat content. In 2003, the average American intake of trans fats was 4.6 g/day, according to the FDA, and that number had fallen to about 1 g/day in 2012.

There will always be some trans fats in diets as dairy products, beef, veal, lamb and mutton contain small amounts of naturally occurring trans fats. However, many foods are still made with partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), the major dietary source of trans fat in processed food.

PHOs have been incorporated into processed foods since the 1950s, where they are claimed to increase shelf life and flavour stability. The most common foods containing trans fats are:

• crackers, biscuits, cakes, frozen pies and other baked goods,
• snack foods (such as microwave popcorn),
• frozen pizza,
• vegetable shortenings and stick margarines,
• coffee creamers,
• refrigerated dough products (such as biscuits and cinnamon rolls),
• ready-to-use icings.

The most widely used PHOs have long been considered ‘generally recognised as safe’ (GRAS) ingredients by the food industry. But this is now under question.

Due to the health risks now known to be associated with consuming PHOs, the US Food and Drug Administration has issued a Federal Register notice with its preliminary determination that PHOs are no longer GRAS. If this preliminary determination is finalised, then PHOs would become food additives subject to premarket approval by FDA. Foods containing unapproved food additives are considered adulterated under US law, meaning they cannot legally be sold.

If FDA determines that PHOs are not GRAS, it could, in effect, mean the end of artificial, industrially produced trans fat in foods. FDA is soliciting comments on how such an action would impact small businesses and how to ensure a smooth transition if a final determination is issued.

If FDA makes a final determination that PHOs are not GRAS, the agency and food industry will have to figure out a way to phase out the use of PHOs over time. To help address this concern in an appropriate manner, the Federal Register notice calls for comment on how long it would take the food industry to phase out its use of PHOs.

Australian manufacturers are not required to include trans fats on food labels unless a nutrition claim is made about cholesterol, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated fats: omega 3, omega 6 or omega 9 fatty acids. The Heart Foundation recommends that consumers avoid foods that show ‘hydrogenated oils’ or ‘partially hydrogenated vegetable oils’ in the ingredients list. However, the law doesn’t currently enforce companies to list these fats on labels. The Heart Foundation has been lobbying government for mandatory labelling of trans fat but in the meantime, vegetable oils and margarines with the Heart Foundation Tick must contain no more than 1% trans fat as part of their total fat. Other products must be virtually free (trace levels only) of trans fat to qualify for the Tick.