There is currently a controversy surrounding the labeling and use of artificial trans fatty acids in the United States food supply. The root of this debate lies in the health risks associated with these types of fats. Consumption of trans fats has been shown to increase LDL cholesterol levels and decrease HDL cholesterol levels, putting consumers at risk for developing heart disease and other chronic conditions [1]. Recommendations to limit trans fat intake have been published by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and the Federal Government. However, in order to avoid these diseases, the public must be aware of the primary sources of trans fat. While trans fat occurs naturally in some ingredients including meat and dairy products, it is often a byproduct of increasing product shelf life in many processed foods including baked goods, microwave popcorn, and frozen pizza and is revealed in the ingredient list as “partially hydrogenated oils” [2]. Therefore, our ever-expanding supply of processed foods means an increase in the consumption of trans fat.
In 2003, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended regulations related to the labeling of trans fatty acids. This rule became effective in 2006 and required that the amount of trans fat in a food product be displayed in the nutrition label. This rule was in response to a petition from the Center for Science in the Public Interest. While this demonstrates a major step in informing the public about their consumption of this particular type of fat, there are some limitations to this rule [3].
Trans fat must be labeled as grams per serving to the nearest 0.5 gram, however, if a single serving contains less than 0.5 grams, the trans fat content must be labele...
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...ll have to wait to see the solutions that food companies arrive at to understand the true implications of this policy.
Works Cited
1. Derbyshire E. Trans fats: Implications for health. Nursing Standard. 2012;27(3):51-56.1.
2. Trans fats. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/FatsAndOils/Fats101/Trans-Fats_UCM_301120_Article.jsp. Updated 2013. Accessed 2/5, 2014.
3. Guidace for industry: Trans fatty acids in nutrition labeling, nutrient content claims, health claims, small entity compliane guide. http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm053479.htm. Updated 2003. Accessed 2/5, 2014.
4. Nelson J, Zeratsky K. Serving sizes: Who decides what a serving is? http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-blog/serving-sizes/bgp-20056210. Updated 2010. Accessed 2/5, 2014.
Trans fat helps contribute to an unhealthy lifestyle by causing people to pay more to not be sick. In 2008, “medical cost for obesity was nearly $150 billion dollars”, which can be avoided if people try...
The 2009 movie Food Inc. describes the major role that food production plays within many lives. This movie revealed that there is a very small variety of companies that consumers purchase their food from. These few companies actually control what is out on the shelves and what we put into our bodies. These companies have changed food production into a food production business. Many of these companies experiment with ways to create large quantities of food at low production costs to result in an enormous amount of profit for themselves. Some of the production cost cuts also result in less healthy food for the population. Instead of worrying about the health of the population, the companies are worried about what will make them the most money.
While conducting my research, I found it pretty alarming that allergy labeling on products wasn’t mandated by the government until ten years ago. If allergens were not required to be clearly labeled on the products we consume, people with nut or gluten allergies for example, would have extreme difficulty in purchasing food products. Studies show that around 30,000 people require emergency room care in the United States due to allergy related incidents and around 150 deaths occur as a result of allergic reactions to food, in addition, approximately 2% of adults in the US and 5% of children have food allergies. Judging by these allergy demographics, it’s safe to assume that if allergen labeling was not mandated for consumer products, we’d see a tremendous amount of hospital treatment and deaths in the US and all over the world.
Paul, Maya W., Gina Kemp, and Robert Segal. "Organic Foods: Understanding Organic Food Labels, Benefits, and Claims." Helpguide.org: Expert, Ad-free Articles Help Empower You with Knowledge, Support & Hope. Aug. 2011. Web. 05 Dec. 2011.
It’s no secret that the U.S. is encouraging people to pursue healthier lifestyles in order to combat the obesity epidemic. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration have recently joined the fight against obesity by advocating for the elimination of Trans fats from the American food supply (Tavernise, 2013). Not to mention the policy initiates that have been created in order to help combat childhood obesity (the Let’s Move policy initiative). Simply put, the nation’s p...
This concedes that now America is creating health issues from consuming unhealthy foods. According to, “The battle against fast food beings in the home”, by Daniel Weintraub, “Kids eat unhealthy food and sit in front of the television or computer for hours at a time”. The article states that now obesity has affected many kids in America. Due to obesity affecting many kids in America the argument here is that, parents are not thinking about their child’s health and how it affects their body. Their main worry if the food is cheap and that it’s reasonable to buy for their family; which is understandable. Thus, many kids health are in danger from the lack of a nutritious diet. At the same time, fast food companies believe that it’s not their fault. According to Daniels Weintraub’s article, it states that “ It’s the parents, not the government, not the fast food companies who are responsible for teaching kids unhealthy habits” (Weintraub 1). The argument here is that parents need to try to feed their kids much healthier diets such as vegetables. Feeding them fast food is going to wreck their health. For this reason, fast food companies should try to sell healthier food for a reasonable price. Having produce companies sell more affordable fruits and vegetables will clear this problem. This will allow people who don’t have much money be able to provide a healthy dish
Our current system of corporate-dominated, industrial-style farming might not resemble the old-fashioned farms of yore, but the modern method of raising food has been a surprisingly long time in the making. That's one of the astonishing revelations found in Christopher D. Cook's "Diet for a Dead Planet: Big Business and the Coming Food Crisis" (2004, 2006, The New Press), which explores in great detail the often unappealing, yet largely unseen, underbelly of today's food production and processing machine. While some of the material will be familiar to those who've read Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" or Eric Schlosser's "Fast-Food Nation," Cook's work provides many new insights for anyone who's concerned about how and what we eat,
...“Proposed Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 7 Mar. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
Introduction There once was a time when words like "light" and "low-fat" were on food packages that had no nutritional meaning. As a result, shoppers were often led to believe they were buying products that were more helpful than they really were. Nutrition panels on labels are also confusing and hard to read. But the Australia New Zealand Authority (ANZFA) changed all that. In March 2001 the ANZFA defined new standardized terms that appear on food labels such as "low-fat", "reduced" and "lean" to control how food manufacturers could put their facts that are relevant to most of our dietary needs.
Harvard School of Public Health “Shining the spotlight on trans fats.” Harvard Nutrition source, n.d.
Consumers are now watching what they eat, and want to avoid products that contain ingredients that have become deemed as fattening.
- There will be many groups that start protesting on health and environment issue that are created by Fast Food Industry operation such as obesity and global warming (unrecyclable packaging). This protesting can made some of the fast food companies close their restaurant in some country due to future government restriction and people protests.
More and More people are becoming concerned about what they eat, especially if they consume food products that are manufactured in food industries. However, it is hard to know what exactly you are consuming if food industries provide false nutrition content and mislead consumers by placing false advertisements on the packaging. When a company produces a product that contains misleading label, consumers are not receiving complete information about the food they are eating which could lead to health issues including allergies and problems with diabetes.
We ask ourselves what does this food we eat really contain and will it harm us? According to the food industry everything we as the consumers need to know about our food should be on the back label.The food
Some grocery stores started to post very informative information in the produce section. It labels the nutritional facts next to the item you are considering purchasing. Some of these labels give detail about the vitamins and how it impacts your body. For example, next to bananas at a Wholefoods grocery store the label read high in potassium and will give you energy. Chain restaurants such as, The Cheesecake Factory are required to provide nutritional information on most menu items. The FDA is trying to incorporate the same information on prepackaged meals at grocery stores. “The proposed regulation would require store owners to label prepared, unpackaged foods found in salad bars and food bars, soups and bakery items” (Bream). If we take the time to read these labels, I believe there will be a reduction in obesity. Continued help from the government is needed to ensure this regulation is incorporated at all grocery stores. This support will encourage Americans to select healthier foods over foods that don’t over much