FDA Edging Closer to Trans Fat Ban — Very Slowly

Editor’s Note: The following is from the Jan. 10 member edition, published every Friday morning. To read the full issue — which includes this week’s horoscopes for all 12 signs and a generous helping of astro-news briefs — consider a single-issue purchase here. Or, get instant access to this issue through a free one-month trial membership here, and receive our twice-weekly mailings automatically (plus it makes you eligible for a significant discount on The Mars Effect annual readings!). — Amanda

After years of deliberation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it was prepared to take the next step in regulation of trans fats, or partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) which have been long known to contribute to heart disease. The agency’s preliminary determination is expected to result in trans fats being reclassified as “not generally recognized as safe” (NGRAS), meaning that food manufacturers would need to apply for special permission to include PHOs as additives rather than routinely including them as ingredients.

Trans fats were introduced to the public in the form of Crisco, which the manufacturer claimed was better and healthier than butter. [See related amazing article about the marketing of Crisco.] They then became popular as margarine, and are included in nearly all fast foods. Partial hydrogenation allows the oil to be solid at room temperature.

The Center for Science in the Public, succeeded in 2003 — after a nine-year campaign — in getting the FDA to require that products containing trans fats be specifically labeled as such. As public awareness of the dangers of trans fats has grown, a combination of CSPI pressure and consumer education has led many restaurant chains and snack makers to lower the amount of trans fats in their products or remove them entirely. Trans fats are still much-used in margarine, microwave popcorn, frozen pizzas and other products.

Some communities, including New York City, have instituted local bans. “If trans-fat labeling in the supermarket was the beginning of the end of trans fat, New York’s move today is the middle of the end of trans fat,” said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson in 2006, after the announcement of that city’s ban.

The FDA’s preliminary determination of the chemical substance as NGRAS is not the end of the story, however. The agency announced a 60-day extension of the comment period on the proposed ban at the end of December, meaning that manufacturers will have until March 8 to offer arguments and suggestions.

What might those be? According to the FDA, the extension is for “possible alternative approaches, time needed for reformulation, burden on small businesses, and other technical challenges to removal of PHOs from the food supply.”

Dave Murphy of the watchdog group Food Democracy Now says the sluggish pace of what was hailed as a ‘ban’ on trans fats is unsurprising. “This battle has been going on for several decades now and there’s been stalling and stonewalling at every step,” he said. “It’s a familiar process in DC. In many ways, the FDA is a captive agency to corporate lobbying power. We’ve noticed them extending comment periods on several issues lately; the manufacturers are trying to find a way to delay the inevitable.”