• What is industrially produced trans fat?
• How are industrially produced trans fats formed?
• Why is industrially produced trans fat harmful to health?
• What are the more common food sources of industrially produced trans fat?
• What is naturally occurring trans fat?
• Is naturally occurring trans fat as harmful to health as industrially produced trans fat?

 

What is industrially produced trans fat?

It is a type of dietary fat. Most of the trans fat in our diet is industrially produced, which is more harmful to heart health than any other ingredient in our food.¹

 

How are industrially produced trans fats formed?

Industrially produced trans fats can be formed through several industry processing methods:

• Partial hydrogenation, a process used to change liquid oils into semi-solid and solid fats, creates the majority of industrially produced trans fat in the Canadian food supply.
• Commercial refinement of some liquid vegetable oils such as canola, soybean and fish oils causes a small amount of industrially produced trans fat to form.²
• Deep-fat frying can create a small amount of industrially produced trans fat if oils are not used properly (0.2 – 1% of total fat content). This can be kept to a minimum if fry oil is used at appropriate temperatures and within its lifespan. See Guidelines for Deep Fryers and Frying Oil.
• The BC trans fat regulation restricts industrially produced trans fats that are  formed by the partial hydrogenation process only.

 

Why is industrially produced trans fat harmful to health?

Trans fat increases the risk of heart disease more than any other type of dietary fat. Trans fat not only raises LDL (bad) cholesterol, but also lowers HDL (good) cholesterol, both of which are strongly associated with heart disease.³  A high consumption of trans fat is responsible for an estimated 3,000 deaths from heart disease every year in Canada.⁴

 

What are the more common food sources of industrially produced trans fat?

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Food that has “hydrogenated," “partially hydrogenated," “margarine”, or “shortening” as an ingredient may contain industrially produced trans fat.

Common food sources of industrially produced trans fat are seen in:

• Cooking and Frying
  • Fry oils
  • Pourable and solid shortenings
  • Margarine
• Baking
  • Vegetable shortening
  • Baking margarine
  • Liquid cake shortening
  • All-purpose shortenings
  • Roll-in shortenings
  • Doughnut fry shortening
  • Cake, cookie and muffin mixes
  • Icings and whipped toppings
  • Frozen dough and pie crusts
  • Canned fillings and fudge base
  • Chocolate chips, sprinkles and other candy add-ins
  • Compound coatings and wafers
• Ready-Made foods
  • Pre-baked food:
    • Cookies
    • Cakes
    • Pies
    • Tortilla wraps
    • Bread crumbs and croutons
  • Pre-fried food:
    • Egg rolls
    • French fries
    • Asian noodles
    • Onion rings
    • Fish sticks
    • Chicken nuggets/burger
    • Taco shells
    • Potato, corn or tortilla chips
  • Other:
    • Nacho cheese sauce
    • Non-dairy creamer
    • Garlic or fat spreads 

 

What is naturally occurring trans fat?

Naturally occurring trans fat is made by bacteria in the stomach of ruminant animals such as cows, sheep, goats, bison, and deer. It is found in small amounts in the meat and dairy products of these animals.

 

Is naturally occurring trans fat as harmful to health as industrially produced trans fat?

Several studies have found that there is not the same harmful effect to health as with industrially produced trans fat.^{5, 6, 7, 8} However, meat and dairy products are often high in saturated fat, which is harmful to heart health. Canadians can lower their risk of heart disease by choosing lower fat dairy products and lean meats according to Canada’s Food Guide.

 

 

 

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¹TRANSforming the Food Supply. Ottawa: Minister of Health; 2006.

²Health Canada website

³TRANSforming the Food Supply. Ottawa: Minister of Health; 2006.

⁴“Estimates based on Harvard School of Public Health data found in the following study: Ascheria A, Katan MB, Zock PL, Stampfer MJ, Willet WC. Trans fatty acids and coronary heart disease. NEJM 1999;340(25): 1994-8.”

⁵Oomen CM, Ocke MC, Feskens EJ, van Erp-Baart MA, Kok FJ, Kromhout D. Association between trans fatty acid intake and 10 – year risk of coronary heart disease in the zutphen elderly study: A prospective population-based study. Lancet. 2001/03/10; 357 (9258):746-51.

⁶Pietinen P, Ascherio A, Korhonen P, Hartman AM, Willet WC, Albanes D, et al. Intake of fatty acids and risk of coronary heart disease in a cohort of Finnish men. The alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene cancer prevention study. Am J Epidemiol. 1997/05/15; 145(10):876-87.

⁷Stener S, Dyerberg J. The influence of trans fatty acids on health. Danish Nutrition Council; 2003. Report No.: Fourth edition.

⁸Willet WC, Stampfer MJ, Manson JE, Colditz GA, Speizer FE, Rosner BA et al. Intake of trans fatty acids and the risk of coronary heart disease among women. Lancet. 1993/03/06; 341 (8845):581-5.