Originally published February 7 2006
Health writer claims food labeling will undergo further changes in the U.S.
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
USA Today features an article detailing the implementation of the trans fat labeling rule and offers speculation about future changes the FDA is expected to make to food labeling requirements.
New federal rules for packaged foods promise to open consumers' eyes to ingredients that could trigger serious allergies or contribute to heart disease.
The labels, which became mandatory on Jan. 1, already have pushed foodmakers to reduce some of those potentially hazardous ingredients out of fear that consumers will recoil at the new information.
That's according to consumer advocates and nutritionists who pushed for the changes.
"These changes will saves thousands of lives every year," says Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which first petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to require trans fat labeling in 1993.
New York University nutrition professor Marion Nestle says the prospect of having to list these fats has forced food producers to stop using partially hydrogenated oils, the primary source.
It is used in processed foods because it is chemically more like animal fat, more solid and less likely to go rancid.
One loophole Jacobson notes is that restaurants aren't required to list the trans fats in their foods.
But he's confident that eventually every use of partially hydrogenated oil will be replaced.
The labeling change is "based on scientific evidence that trans fat intake is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease," says Barbara Schneeman, director of the FDA's Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling and Dietary Supplements.
The trans fat labeling rule was announced in July 2003, so companies have spent the past three years reformulating many products to have a better "fat profile," says Stephanie Childs of the Grocery Manufacturers Association.
The FDA is considering new rules to require more realistic calorie counts, including giving calories for the entire package, not just a single serving, as well as printing calorie numbers in larger type.
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