Trans fats are an easy to use and inexpensive product that helps give food a pleasing taste and texture. They have a negative effect on the human body, raising bad cholesterol levels and lowering your good cholesterol levels. They are also associated with a higher risk of developing foods that Americans consume regularly.
Research shows that reducing trans fat in the American diet can significantly help reduce the risk of heart disease. Half a million deaths, worldwide per year, can be attributed to trans fats presence in snack foods, baked foods, and other fried foods. This data has been backed by the research done by the World Health Organization and the UN Health Agency.
These numbers are statistically huge and demonstrate a systematic problem in food production that must be immediately remedied. Places all over the world have started to take initiative with this movement to boot trans fats from our food. Primarily, western Europe has made huge steps in reducing industrially made trans fats. Denmark and New York, similarly despite their geographic distance, both have implemented a ban. This puts pressure on companies to substitute other ingredients for trans fats.
Of course, this awareness is becoming more impactful every day on the corporate level. The International Food and Beverage Alliance, which is a company that represents huge businesses such as Mars, McDonald’s, Nestle, and PepsiCo, has made the statement that it is complying with efforts to eliminate industrial trans fats.
This process, naturally, is not as simple as just omitting trans fats from production. Often, it will happen that trans fats are being replaced with saturated fats, demonstrating that this is not so easy of a fix. Saturated fat consumption is already in excess, and diets that include a lot of saturated fat are “linked to raised cholesterol levels, a risk factor for heart and circulatory diseases.” This, of course, is a dangerous trade and it is important that trans fat is not being switched out for something equally as detrimental to health.
However, social and political awareness is increasing. This movement is resulting in a call for producers to remove industrial trans fats from their products, one that is being picked up and progressed every day. It is on the upward projectile as Americans are becoming much more aware of the detrimental qualities of trans fats, and more likely to check the food labels and avoid foods that contain them.