Big Food fights to keep killer trans fat in our food
When the FDA announced in June that it was banning artery-clogging trans fats in foods, I warned you that it was all a scam.
I told you how the FDA left a loophole the size of Texas that gave food companies three full years to lean on the Feds to soften, or even scrap, the ban.
But it looks like what Big Food has in mind is even worse.
Because one of the world’s largest industry trade groups has just announced a shocking plan to keep deadly trans fats in hundreds of our foods–forever.
All without us ever knowing it – and all with our government’s blessing.
What you don’t know can hurt youWhen the FDA announced its so-called ban on trans fats in June, I told you that the Grocery Manufacturers Association – which represents more than 300 food companies – didn’t seem too concerned.A GMA executive even promised members that no such ban was coming.
Now we know why these lobbyists weren’t losing any sleep. Because it’s clear that the food industry intends to get just about everything we eat exempted from the ban.
The GMA just filed a massive petition with the FDA claiming that the ban shouldn’t apply to 50 different categories of food. I’m talking about foods in every single aisle of your supermarket, including fruit snacks, pie crusts, brownies, microwave popcorn, chicken breading, and even tea bags.
That’s right – they’ve even found a way to put trans fats in our tea!
As I’ve told you, the FDA has given companies three full years to argue that the ban shouldn’t apply to certain foods. And the GMA is arguing that as long as its members keeps trans fats below certain levels, their foods will be “basically as safe” as meat and dairy products that have naturally occurring trans fats.
And that’s not just “basically” a lie – it is one.
Studies have shown that the naturally occurring trans fats in beef or chicken actually reduce your risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. But when it comes to the manufactured, processed gunk they’re adding to our foods (you’ll see it on labels as partially hydrogenated oil), it’s a whole different story.
Even our government admits that added trans fats are causing 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths every single year. And the Institute of Medicine has declared that there is no safe level of consumption when it comes to trans fats.
The worst part is that if the GMA gets its way, we’ll all continue eating deadly trans fats without ever realizing it.
The FDA will continue claiming that it has banned trans fats. And the agency has a long history of allowing companies to claim their foods are “trans-fat free” as long as they stay under certain levels, like half a gram per serving.
It’s a ruse that food companies and our government have been running for years. And it looks like they’re gearing up to continue it.
In fact, the food industry is acting like it expects trans fats to be around a good long time. There’s industry-backed legislation floating around the House of Representatives right now that would even prevent lawsuits over trans fats.
Just another reminder of who our politicians are really representing in Washington.
As I said back in June, the only reliable way to get trans fats out of our diets is to do it ourselves. And the best way to do that is to avoid mass produced, processed foods wherever you can.
That should keep most of the trans fats out of your diet – even the trans fats that the food companies and our government are trying to sneak past us.
Sources:
“Food industry has long trans fat wish list” Helena Bottemiller Evich, August 6, 2015, Politico, politico.com
