Originally published January 3 2006
Girl Scouts act wisely by removing trans fats from their cookies
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Girl Scouts officials across the country talk about the organization's ethical decision to leave behind old products tainted with trans fats and begin producing cookies that are more nutritionally sound.
The Scouts have taken the villainous substance out of three of their most popular cookies: Thin Mints, Caramel deLites and Peanut Butter Patties.
Two new cookies, the fudge-covered Thanks-A-Lot and reduced-fat Cartwheels, don't have trans fat, either.
"The fact that five of them are trans fat-free is big news to them," says Martha Singleton, marketing communications manager for the Girl Scouts of Mid-Continent Council.
By next year's drive all Girl Scout cookies will be free of the fat that scientists now tell us is more harmful to our hearts than saturated fat.
"I think it's going to be great," says Dianne Brungardt, leader of two Scout troops in Independence, Mo.
"I hear every year that everyone's on a diet, and they love cookies, and they love Girl Scout cookies and want to help out with our programs, but they want something with reduced fat or something healthier."
Girl Scout cookies join a parade of other foods, from Doritos to Goldfish crackers, that have been de-trans-fatted in anticipation of new FDA labeling requirements that go into effect Jan. 1.
The food industry used them for decades because they were cheap and thought to be healthier than saturated fats.
"I think there are some folks out there who want to vilify everyone who uses trans fat," says Sherry Sybesma, senior vice president of sales and marketing for ABC Cookie Baker, the oldest licensed maker of Girl Scout cookies.
For the Girl Scouts, the bakery knew it would be challenged to come up with trans fat-free recipes for new cookies that taste as good as the old.
The old Thin Mints, for instance, had 4 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat and 10 grams of sugars per four-cookie serving, according to the nutrition label.
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