They are the fats clogging cookies, butter flavored popcorn and frozen pizzas.
Food manufacturers use them to increase the shelf lives of their products.
Consumers know them as the “bad fats” that the Food and Drug Administration this year said can raise detrimental cholesterol levels. They are trans fats.
Trans fats garnered national attention again last month when health officials in New York City and Chicago proposed phasing out the artificially produced fats in restaurants. If New York officials approve the proposal, the city will become the first in the nation to eradicate trans fats from restaurants.
While a ban initiative isn’t in the works in Eugene, University food services and several restaurants have already cut back trans fats served here because of increased awareness of their health effects.
Fats, naturally occurring substances in food that the body can use for energy, come in several varieties. Many artificially and some naturally produced foods have long contained saturated fats, which contain cholesterol.
Trans fats, created by partially hydrogenating vegetable oils, arose as an alternative to saturated fats used in baking and frying during the mid-1900s. Advocates said they increased shelf life and were more healthful.
But this year, the FDA ruled that trans fats could contribute to bad cholesterol even more than saturated fats and mandated that food manufacturers label foods that contain trans fats. The FDA says excessive trans fat consumption raises a body’s low-density lipoprotein, or “bad cholesterol,” and leads to coronary heart disease, a leading cause of death nationwide.
Today, the majority of trans fats are found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils used for baking and frying.
Nationally, the trans fat media craze has caused many snack-food manufacturers to remove trans fats from cookies, chips and crackers. Many snack foods now display “zero grams trans fat” advertisements.
These trans fat-free products are not necessarily healthier, however, because eliminating trans fats from items often raises the saturated fat content of a product, said Kristen Olmos, University Health Center dietitian.
Olmos said she would advise students to steer clear from both those fats for healthy diets.
Café Yumm! owner Mark Beauchamp agreed that other food components should receive equal attention.
“It’s not just trans fat,” he said. “What about saturated fats and cholesterol-laden foods?”
Café Yumm!, at 1801 Willamette St., prepares its food with expeller-pressed oil, chemically extracted oil from seeds and nuts that is a healthier alternative to partially hydrogenated oils.
“For us, it’s a personal value,” Beauchamp said. “It’s a unique and distinctive element of our business.”
University food services has deliberately chosen to use rice oil, which is naturally high in antioxidants and trans fat-free, for the last seven years, said Food Services Director for University Housing Tom Driscoll.
“We have no trans fat in anything we fry,” Driscoll said. “Baked products are harder to eliminate trans fat.”
Muffins and cookies sold at the University more regularly have the fats, he said, because the University buys some of its baked goods from manufacturers that tend to use margarine and shortening.
“There can be times when a recipe calls for margarine, so in that case you would find trans fat, but not like lasagna or a pasta dish,” Driscoll said.
It’s unnecessary to use fatty fryer oils for food items the University cooks, but some of the packaged foods available on campus will have the fat, he said.
“If you buy anything that’s packaged … and you want to avoid (trans fats), you are out of luck because they’re just loaded in there,” Driscoll said.
Glenwood Restaurant, 1340 Alder St., also chooses to use oils such as canola and olive oil, which do not contain trans fat, because they produce healthier menu items, general manager David Andersen said.
The restaurant does not have a deep fryer to prepare any of its foods, Andersen said.
Brails Coffee Shop, at 1689 Willamette St., well-known for its chicken-fried steak, uses several different cooking oils, including fry oil and vegetable oil, said owner Joy Knudtson.
Knudtson said she didn’t know what trans fats are or if the oils her restaurant uses contain them.
“Brails is popular in Eugene,” Knudtson said. “I don’t wonder about what’s bad for you when you eat. You got to enjoy what you eat.”
University junior Kelly Rupp also didn’t know much about trans fats except for having seen advertisements in grocery stores about products not having them.
“I wouldn’t know what kinds of trans are in this pizza,” Rupp said, pointing to his slice of cheese and pepperoni.
University sophomore Jennifer Rick, however, knows exactly what processed foods are ridden with trans.
“They are the ‘bad fats,’” Rick said, listing how crackers, chips and fried foods have them.
Denmark is the only other country that has limited the amount of trans fat produced. The country’s ban prohibits food containing more than two percent trans fats for every 100 fat grams.
Harvard University health researchers have claimed that 228,000 fewer heart attacks each year would occur if Americans completely abolished trans fats from their diets, according to an April 13 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“This body’s a gift, so treat it right,” Café Yumm! owner Beauchamp said.
Contact the crime, health and safety reporter at [email protected]
Trans fats are artificially produced fats found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, which are often used for baking and frying.
Medium-sized French Fries
Amount Per Serving
Total Fat 27 grams
Saturated Fat 7 grams
Trans Fat 8 grams
1 tbsp Margarine
Total Fat 11 grams
Saturated Fat 2 grams
Trans Fat 3 grams
1 Doughnut
Total Fat 18 grams
Saturated Fat 4.5 grams
Trans Fat 5 grams
3 Cream-filled Cookies
Total Fat 6 grams
Saturated Fat 1 gram
Trans Fat 2 grams
1 Candy Bar
Total Fat 10 grams
Saturated Fat 4 grams
Trans Fat 3 grams
– Food and Drug Administration