Posted January 7, 2014
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) has extended the comment period for its proposal to reduce trans fat in
processed foods, according to the FDA’s Constituent Update, available here. Agri-Pulse reported on the story here.
The Federal Register notice is available
here.
While the comment period
was set to end today, FDA will now accept comments until March 8.
In November,
FDA announced a preliminary determination that trans fats or partially
hydrogenated oils are no longer “generally recognized as safe.” If the proposal is finalized, trans fats would
become food additives subject to premarket approval by FDA. Thus, a food manufacturer wishing to sell
products containing partially hydrogenated oils would require FDA’s approval.
It is widely known that
trans fat, found in many processed foods, is linked to heart disease and many
in the food industry have moved away from using trans fat in their products. McDonald’s, for example, has eliminated trans
fat from its ingredients, now using a canola blend cooking oil. An article by Food processing, available here,
discussing other companies who have reduced or eliminated partially hydrogenated
oils from their products.
The American Heart
Association applauded FDA’s proposal, saying, “[T]he scientific evidence is
clear – eating food with trans fat increases production of ‘bad’ cholesterol
which is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.”
For more information on
food safety and food labeling, please visit the National Agricultural Law
Center’s website here
and here.
