Trans fatty acids (or “trans fat”), which have been linked with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, are fats found in foods such as vegetable shortening, snack foods, fried foods, and salad dressings.
The new standards require labels to list grams of trans fat, but do not include a provision, contained in FDA’s 1999 proposal, requiring trans fatty acids to be included in the amount and percent Daily Value (%DV) declared for saturated fatty acids (another heart disease promoting fat). Canada requires food manufacturers to label trans fat in this way, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).
“The new labels will let consumers compare trans fat content from product to product, and that will be a great step forward,” said Margo Wootan, CSPI’s nutrition policy director. “It will be hard, though, for people to tell if a given number of grams of trans fat is a lot or a little. Five grams may not seem like a lot, but it is.”
The new standards follow a September 2001 “prompt letter” from John Graham, administrator of OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), asking the FDA to make labeling requirements for trans fatty acids a priority. Graham, who throughout his tenure has exercised a great deal of upfront influence in agency affairs, also recently urged the departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services to revise dietary guidelines and the food pyramid to reflect the dangers of trans fatty acids.
Along with the new standards, FDA also issued an “advanced notice of proposed rulemaking” to gather information that could lead to further labeling changes related to trans fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.
Food manufacturers must comply with the new requirements by Jan. 1, 2006.