FDA moves to ban trans fats, citing health risks

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday proposed banning artificial trans fats in processed food ranging from cookies to frozen pizza, citing the risk of heart disease.

Partially hydrogenated oils, which are the primary dietary source of the fats, have been shown to raise "bad" cholesterol. Reducing the use of trans fats could prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease a year, the FDA said.

"While consumption of potentially harmful artificial trans fat has declined over the last two decades in the United States, current intake remains a significant public health concern," FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said.

Public health advocates welcomed the move.

"Artificial trans fat is a uniquely powerful promoter of heart disease, and today's announcement will hasten its eventual disappearance from the food supply," Michael Jacobson, executive director of the non-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest said.

The FDA's proposal is not the first public effort to ban trans fats. New York City banned the use of trans fats in restaurants, and many restaurants and fast food chains, including McDonald's Corp., have eliminated them.

Trans fats are present in a wide range of processed foods including crackers and cookies, frozen pizza and refrigerated dough, coffee creamers and ready-to-use frosting.

Some products will be harder to reformulate than others, FDA officials said.

"We know that technically this is not an insoluble problem," Hamburg told reporters on a conference call, adding that the use of trans fats has declined dramatically since 2006, when the agency required companies to disclose trans fat levels on package labels.

According to the Grocery Manufacturers Association, food manufacturers have voluntarily lowered the amounts of trans fats in their food products by more than 73 percent.

Partially hydrogenated oils are derived from vegetable oils such as soybean. Hydrogenation, a chemical process, converts liquid vegetable oils into solid or semi-solid fats, which are preferred for baking and have a longer shelf life.

The FDA's proposal is subject to a 60-day public comment period in which food companies are expected to outline how long they expect it to take them to reformulate products.

If the proposal becomes final, partially hydrogenated oils would be considered food additives and would not be allowed in food unless authorized by health regulators. The ruling would not affect naturally occurring trans fat that occurs in small amounts in certain meat and dairy products.

Companies wishing to include trans fats in their products would have to meet the safety standards applied to food additives and prove with reasonable certainty that they do not cause harm.