Gary List, NCAUR
Posted on October 13th, 2006

Trans Fats: Where do they come from and how do we get rid of them in foods?

G. R. List
Food and Industrial Oil Research, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, ARS, USDA, 1815 N. University Street, Peoria, IL 61604

Vegetable oils are composed of molecules with low melting points and are liquids at room temperature. They may be pumped and handled easily and most often are used as salad/frying oils, spray oils and in limited baking applications.

In foods where structure and sensory/eating qualities are important, i.e. margarines/spreads/baking shortenings, the melting point of the fat must be raised. Most often, this is achieved by a process called partial hydrogenation which, in turn, produces trans fats.

Over the past 30 years or so, trans fats have been implicated in raising serum cholesterol levels in humans and as a risk factor in coronary heart disease. In Europe, Canada and the United States regulations are in place to either eliminate or reduce the levels of trans acids in foods. In the U.S., food must be labeled for trans fat on nutritional labels effective Jan. 1, 2006.

The food industry has a number of options for trans reduction including alternative fat processing, use of tropical oils, naturally stable oils and modified composition oilseeds. This talk will explore ways to reduce trans fats from our foods.