New type of fat to appear on labels
Trans fat hasn’t gotten the attention its infamous cousin, saturated fat, earned through warnings and labels. That’s about to change: After 10 years of debate, the US government is requiring food labels to reveal exact levels of the artery clogger.
‘We have so many Americans — 500,000 — that are suffering each year from heart disease and heart defects and a lot of that (is) attributable to trans fatty acids,’ said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, appearing on CNN.
Trans fat is the stuff that helps make such foods as doughnuts, french fries, crackers and fried chicken taste so good. But it’s at least as dangerous to the heart as saturated fat — and many doctors consider it worse. And until now, consumers have had no way of knowing how much trans fat they eat.
‘We think if the consumers know what is best for them, they will purchase the proper foods in the proper amounts and do a much better job of improving their health,’ Thompson said. Read more
FDA to grade products’ health claims
Teachers won’t be the only ones issuing grades from now on. The Food and Drug Administration plans to start grading health claims on product labels.
The ranking system will assign letter grades – ranging from ‘A’ to ‘D’ – on each claim a company makes, indicating the quality and strength of the scientific evidence that supports the claim.
‘We want to see more of a focus on getting that information out to consumers and we want to see more of a focus on food producers competing based on the health consequences of their products,’ says FDA Commissioner Dr. Mark McClellan.
The measure is intended to encourage the manufacturers of foods, beverages and dietary supplements to present only health claims that are firmly backed by sound science. An FDA spokesperson said the new grades are intended to inform consumers about the products they buy. Read more