Banning trans fats - your view

Former Member

A few days ago I saw this on the news and at the time I said "It's about time."

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2006-09-26T235825Z_01_N26368183_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-NEWYORK-FAT-DC.XML

The NYC Health Department has proposed a near ban of all trans fats from more than 20,000 restaurants in New York.
If you don't know what trans fats are or their effect on us and to save me explaining it, I have provided a link of a major study made by the New England Journal of Medicine publiched in April this year.

http://www.bantransfats.com/abouttransfat.html

There are explanations of different type of fats, what they do, the scientific explanations, case studies and guidelines.
I've spoken to a few people about this and not to my surprise, most of them didn't give a monkeys about it.
What is the UK government doing about it really?
Anything with some purpose and dedication?
(and tony blair meeting with jamie oliver don't count as purposeful)

I am a bit frustrated really.

Former Member

I think at least any products containing trans fats should content a prominent health warning on the packet. Vile stuff...

Former Member

Ideally banned, but what Aladdin says would be a start!

Former Member

The stats on that link are pretty scary. I'll be checking a few more labels...

Just checked all my food labels. Only dodgy one is my Co-Op Gravy Granules, which say " Hydrogenated Palm Oil". Wonder how I find out if this is actually PARTIALLY-Hydrogenated? The worst thing is, I don't really like gravy so it's mostly for my child... boo... I figure that Friday night chip shop/McDonalds/Take-away is full of crap- hence the friday night restriction, but I didn't think to worry about Co-Op gravy...

If Trans Fats were actually banned, would it make cheap food, like value/white label products, more expensive?

I'd rather it not be banned personally, I like my dose of crappy food tbh. I do like the idea of it being obviously labelled and perhaps more consumer education on it as I certainly didn't know all the stuff the above link suggests. At whos expense this would be enforced concerns me a little too though.

Former Member

I think better food labelling is needed, but not a ban on trans fats... If people want to put shit in their body let them. The thing is that all the foods listed on the 'ban trans fats' link are unhealthy anyway (pizza, battered fish, chicken nuggets ect), so if you eat too much of them and get ill then it's your own fault.

Former Member

I don't know about an outright ban, but the labelling should certainly be vastly improved. Trans fats, which are really really bad, don't even have to be labelled in this country, and not even the Co-Op bothers- a rather large slap in the face for those who reckon that the food industry is capable of regulating itself.

Former Member

thing is, it's just laziness that means they havent been removed from production... and it isnt more expensive to use the more selective methods of hydrogenating oils into fats, that dont produce transfats - its jsut they are lazy to change the equipment

Former Member

Stick to butter.