Turns out zero trans fats on the package Nutrition Facts panel doesn’t necessarily mean there are no trans fats inside. Here’s how to tell whether there are trans fats in your food or not and why it matters.

For many of us, trans fats appeared on our radar screens just about the time the food industry started getting its collective panties in a bunch about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s ruling [in July 2003] that by January 1, 2006, all Nutrition Facts panels on food packaging had to include trans fats.

Pretty soon, though, smart food producers whose products were trans fat-free started using that fact as a marketing tool, putting it right on the front of their packaging. And as consumers became more aware of the health hazards of these evil fats, many companies decided maybe it was time to give up this cheap, industrially produced substance for healthier choices.

So now, post-2006, avoiding trans fats is as easy as looking for that reassuring 0g [zero grams] next to Trans Fats on the Nutrition Facts panel, right? Not so fast. I’m not sure whose quid got pro quoed, but according to the FDA, anything less than .5 grams of trans fat per serving can be listed as zero grams on the label.

How much is .5 grams, that the government thinks it’s essentially nothing? According to the Mayo Clinic, “Though that’s a small amount of trans fat, if you eat multiple servings of foods with less than 0.5 grams of trans fat, you could exceed recommended limits.”

And what might those recommended levels be? As you can see with this illustration, food nutrition labels in the U.S. don’t list a Percent Daily Value for trans fat; it’s unknown what an appropriate level would be, other than it should be low. But the Mayo Clinic reports that “the American Heart Association recommends that no more than 1 percent of your total daily calories be trans fat. If you consume 2,000 calories a day, that works out to 2 grams of trans fat or less.” Continue reading “The truth about trans fats: Zero isn’t always zero” →