What Everyone Should Know About the Trans-Free Label on Foods

In 2004, Crisco introduced a 'trans-free' safflower based shortening that contained fully hydrogenated fatty acids instead of partially hydrogenated fatty acids. The World Health Organization commented on enzymatic interesterification, the process of combining fully hydrogenated and un-hydrogenated, as "probably has a cholesterol-neutral effect on blood low-density lipoprotein, (LDL)." or "bad"cholesterol.

Fully hydrogenated stearic acid at room temperature is like candle wax in its texture and hardness.

The now no longer available 'trans-free' labeled Cisco may have seemed to be an oxymoron, leaving one to wonder what the legal definition of 'trans-free' really is. It seems that in the United States, it doesn't mean zero hydrogenation. The Food & Drug Administration, (FDA), allows labels of "zero trans fat" if less than 0.5 gram and defines trans fatty acids, (TFA's), as "all unsaturated fatty acids that contain one or more isolated, (non-conjugated), double bonds in a trans configuration."

In 1901, Wilhelm Normann first hydrogenated liquid oils. Hydrogenation is the chemical process of adding hydrogen to vegetable oil. Creaming, elasticity, and aeration properties that results from the hardening is mostly used in bakery goods and for longer shelf life. The chemical process of hydrogenation transfigures the shape of the molecule into a contorted, unnatural angle. The resultant mutated angled arrangement is why it's not metabolized well by the human body.

The FDA announced in the Federal Register - 68 FR 41433 July 11, 2003 that, "polyunsaturated fatty acids that are the basis for conjugated linoleic acids, (CLA's), are special and are excluded from the definition of being trans fat." Chemically synthesized CLA's contains a divergence in the arrangement of atoms not found in nature and the shape of the molecule can be a single trans-unsaturated bond or as two conjugated unsaturated bonds.

Only artificial trans fat should be totally removed from your diet. Not all trans fatty acids are bad. Tiny amounts of natural conjugated linoleic acids, found in alpine cows that had grazed on a variety of different types of grass, gave a number of health benefits including helping the body make muscle instead of fat. Pomegranates, cabbage, and peas naturally contain a tiny amount of trans fat.

SansTrans advertises itself as a trans-free shortenings without hydrogenation. Cargill-Monsanto is planning to market a low-linolenic soybean as a trans-fat alternative. Danish company, Novozymes has recently launched Lipozyme. FiberGel manufactures Z-Trim, a corn bran fiber gel, used to replace up to half the fat in food manufacturing.

Crisco is now replacing all packaging with a 'zero grams trans fat' label. The Crisco web site states that the new process has zero grams in huge letters. Legalese?

Keep it simple, just avoid fatty food fats saturated or not, which should be taken in small amounts as part of a healthy diet. No baked goods if want to lose weight. For bread, I only like Arturo's fat-free oat fiber tortillas that toast up nicely over a gas oven flame and don't fall apart.