With the passing of Halloween, we may think that tricks and treats are behind us, but food companies have some year-round trickery up their sleeves. It seems like we’re always playing catch-up. The minute the FDA comes down on an ingredient used in processed foods, there’s a replacement around the corner, which may or may not be a safer choice.
On a hot day last summer, I had caved to the kids’ requests for ice cream. More often than not, I try to steer them toward getting an organic ice cream with simple ingredients (though maple creemees are delish). I grabbed a brand that contained only milk, cream, sugar and vanilla — the basics to ice cream — but was surprised to see the listing for trans fats on the serving label.
While it’s true that animal products naturally contain some trans fats, it’s really the man-made alternative trans fats to beware of now. A small amount of trans fat also occurs naturally in foods such as beef, veal, lamb and foods containing milk fat, such as butter, whole milk, cream, cheese and ice cream.
Trans trends
In the early 2000s, trans fats were found to be key players in preventable heart disease. Found to contribute to arterial blockage, the FDA mandated the labeling of trans fats on foods and supplements in 2006. They were finally removed from the GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) list in 2015, and food manufacturers were no longer allowed to sell foods containing partially hydrogenated oil as of 2021. Even though heavy hitters like partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) were banned, we still come across naturally occurring trans fats from those in animal products like dairy and meats.
Partially hydrogenated oil not only improved the consistency of products, but ensured the longevity of shelf life as well. Food manufacturers had to seek out alternatives or risk losing the moistness in granola bars, or the chewiness of their cookies. How would they get their Oreo filling ultra-creamy? What would give creamers that smooth velvety texture? What would make fried foods super crispy and delicious? Regardless of the alternatives manufacturers turned to, their costs increased from the inexpensive PHOs that had once been ubiquitous.
Alternatives
Manufacturers sought replacement ingredients that would not only maintain the texture of the foods the public had grown to love, but that wouldn’t compromise the taste. They toyed with shortenings, soybean and canola oils, margarines, and peanut, safflower and sunflower oils — all of which are considered inflammatory today. Not only that, but many of these aforementioned oils are harvested using chemicals such as hexane, leaving trace amounts for our ingestion (yum).
Palm oil
Once thought to be a great alternative to hydrogenated oil because it’s semi-solid at room temperature and fairly inexpensive (both of which is why manufacturers loved the solid PHOs), palm oil does not contain trans fats. Palm oil is not only a poor choice for the environment, but for heart health as well. Welcomed with fanfare in the nutrition community, palm oil has shown its true colors, as it’s recently been connected to higher cholesterol and inflammation due to its high content of saturated fat. Sadly, palm oil has become nearly as ubiquitous as its predecessor PHOs. It’s found in products like bread, desserts, frozen fare, ice cream, prepared soups, pizza dough and sauces as well as snack foods like cakes, cookies and granola bars. Though it has a high smoke point, it also is high in saturated fat, making this little better than PHOs.
Other hidden trans fats
Although mono- and diglycerides are naturally occurring forms of fatty acids, they are often added to processed foods as emulsifiers to help achieve a desired texture and to extend shelf life (sound familiar?). Though technically, they’re lipids, oddly, the FDA has classified them as emulsifiers, so the fact that they contribute trans fats to the foods to which they are added, need not be disclosed to the public. Less oddly, these substances are now on the GRAS list (sound familiar?).
The list of products containing mono- and diglycerides is eerily similar to the list of products that used PHOs. They’re found in bread, margarine, mayo, nut butters, candies and gum, tortillas, meat substitutes, coffee creamers and baked goods, among others.
If it’s not confusing enough, fully hydrogenated oils are not banned. While they are unsaturated and do not contain the trans fats that their partially hydrogenated counterparts do, they are still not a heart healthy choice. In 2018, the FDA issued a statement that fully hydrogenated rapeseed oil is “safe for sparing use in food products.” Often combined with other inflammatory oils like soy and sunflower oils, fully hydrogenated oils are found in margarine, shortening, packaged foods, prepackaged doughs, fried foods and baked goods. They are often labeled “hydrogenated oil.”
Weird math
While the FDA limited trans fats by banning PHOs, it made it easier to hide them in plain sight with the labeling requirements. Now, I am no mathematician, but in all other math I’ve encountered, I was taught that 0.49 grams would round to 0.5 grams if rounding to the nearest tenth. When it comes to trans fats, however, it rounds down to zero, or the nearest whole number. In fact, the verbiage used by the FDA declares that “If a serving contains less than 0.5 gram, the content, when declared, must be expressed as ‘0 g.’” Convenient, isn’t it?
So, if a food contains any trans fat at all, it can say that it doesn’t. It can even claim that it’s not a significant source of trans fats. If I were a food manufacturer and wanted to express my trans fat content as a zero rather than a half gram, I’d cut the serving size down to allow me to do just that. Just saying.
Check the ingredients label to know what’s really in the food you’re eating. Manufactured trans fats are not created equal to those that exist naturally in food and recent studies have found an increased connection between trans fat intake and instances of breast, prostate and colorectal cancers.
Chicken bourguignon
Ingredients
3 tablespoons white flour
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1½ boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter or ghee (divided)
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into cubes
1 large onion – red or white
2 medium shallots
8 ounces white mushrooms, washed and quartered
2 large garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup dry red wine
1½ chicken stock
3 large sprigs fresh thyme
Method
In a large bowl, combine flour, ¼ teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Dredge chicken in mixture, coating both sides. Reserve remainder of flour.
In a large Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter or ghee over medium heat. Add chicken and sear for about 4-5 minutes each side, turning once.
Remove chicken and set aside.
Add remaining oil and butter. Add carrots and onion and sauté until onion is translucent, about three minutes.
Add garlic and mushrooms, cooking for about 1 minute before stirring in remaining flour. Allow to cook for another minute, then add wine, mixing gently. Bring to a boil, then add broth and thyme and remainder of salt and pepper.
Return chicken to the pot and cover. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
Uncover and simmer for about 15 minutes more until sauce is reduced.
Add a bit more flour if thicker sauce is desired.