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 Under new FDA regulations, partially hydrogenated oils, which have
been shown to raise "bad" LDL cholesterol, will be considered food
additives that cannot be used unless authorized by the FDA.
The regulations take effect in three years, giving companies time to
either reformulate products without partially hydrogenated oils or
petition the FDA to permit specific uses of them.
Following the compliance period, no partially hydrogenated oils can
be added to human food unless they are otherwise approved by the
FDA.
The new regulations will apply to such oils added to human foods,
regardless of whether they are sold in a grocery store, restaurant,
bakery or elsewhere, and whether the food is domestically produced
or imported, the FDA said. They do not, however, apply to
naturally-occurring trans fats found in some animal products such as
meat and dairy.
The food industry has begun preparing a petition seeking approval
for limited use of trans fats in certain products, such as
decorative sprinkles, the industry's trade group, the Grocery
Manufacturers Association, said.
The group on Tuesday declined to give details about its petition and
what other products were involved, but expressed satisfaction with
the FDA's overall action and 3-year compliance period.
"(The) FDA has acted in a manner that both addresses FDA's concerns
and minimizes unnecessary disruptions to commerce," it said in a
statement.
Efforts to remove almost all remaining trans fats from the food
supply will be worthwhile, Michael Taylor, the FDA's deputy
commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine, said in a media
conference call. "The public benefits far outstrip costs of
compliance."
Under current law, food additives cannot be used unless they have
been approved in advance by the FDA or are generally recognized as
safe. Such substances do not have to be approved before being used.
In 2013 the FDA made a preliminary determination that partially
hydrogenated oils, the major dietary source of trans fat in
processed foods, are no longer recognized as safe because they
increase the risk of heart disease.
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The oils are formed during food processing when hydrogen is added to
vegetable oil to make it more solid. Reducing their use could
prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths, the agency said.
Currently, foods are allowed to be labeled as having “0” grams trans
fat if they contain less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving.
The food industry has reduced its use of trans fats by 86 percent
since 2003, according to the grocers trade group. The reduction was
spurred in part by the FDA's requirement, in 2006, that trans fat
levels be disclosed on package labels and by New York City's move to
curtail trans fats from restaurant meals.
The industry has reformulated many products using palm, sunflower,
safflower and other oils. But there are some products that have
relatively low levels of trans fats and cannot easily be
reformulated.
Food companies are hoping to persuade the FDA that such products
meet the agency's food additive safety standards. To do that, they
must prove with reasonable certainty that the products cause no
harm.
(Reporting by Toni Clarke in Washington; additional reporting by
Anjali Athavaley and Ransdell Pierson in New York; Editing by Nick
Zieminski)
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