Posted on 01/31/2007 6:39:51 PM PST by blam
Harmful fats removed from supermarket food
By David Derbyshire, Consumer Affairs Editor
Last Updated: 2:19am GMT 01/02/2007
Artery clogging trans-fats will have been phased out of almost all supermarket own-brand food within weeks, Britain's major retailers said yesterday.
The British Retail Consortium, which represents most of the leading supermarkets, claimed that the voluntary move would cut the rates of heart disease and obesity.
Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Tesco say they have already removed the potentially harmful fats from own-brand lines, while Asda says it is "very nearly there". Boots, Morrisons, Iceland and Somerfield also confirmed that they were phasing trans-fats out of processed food within months.
According to the BRC, about 5,000 own-brand products are affected.
Concern about the risks of trans-fats has been growing for years. Although they can form naturally in dairy products, most of the trans-fats in the diet come from processed food and are added by manufacturers to extend shelf life.
They are formed when liquid vegetable oil is "hydrogenated", or made solid, for use in baking and processed foods. They can also be created when oils are fried.
Studies have shown that trans-fats, like saturated fats, raise levels of harmful cholesterol in the blood, and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Andrew Opie, the BRC's food policy director, said: "This is the latest in a string of healthy food initiatives and shows that BRC members, responding to customer concerns, are willingly delivering a scale and pace of change way beyond anything retailers or manufacturers are doing anywhere else in Europe."
Manufacturers have also been reducing levels of trans-fats in cakes, drinks, sweets, cereals and biscuits. Hundreds of brands have been reformulated to include healthier alternatives — including Horlicks, Mars bars, Hobnobs and Weetabix.
The UK Spreads Association said it had also phased out trans-fats. "All brands of spread sold in the UK today are already virtually trans-fat free," said a spokesman.
Alex Callaghan, of the British Heart Foundation, said: "It's good to see companies making moves towards reducing and removing trans-fats. It isn't easy for shoppers to know how much trans-fats are in the food they eat, and it can be confusing.
"We call for manufacturers and retailers to work towards elimination of trans-fats from products."
I misread the headline as:
"Harmful Rats Removed From Supermarket Food"
I don't know if that is a better idea or not.
Just when you thought British food couldn't possibly taste any worse.
"harmful fats" are the best tasting things in food. If there was ANY country that should not be taking good tasting things out of their food, it's the British. I mean when the national dish is "Baked Leprechaun Spleen" you need all the help you can get.
Oh great. California will be doing this next week, I'm sure. Los Angeles county is agitating for a trans-fat ban for restaurants. Having it apply to grocery stores will be the mere adding of a sentence to the legislation.
Oh yeah? Have you ever breaded one and dropped it in a deep fryer??? And your from georgia? Philistine
It is a conspiracy by the Olive Oil industry.
The most popular food in the UK is Indian curry.
Let's start with Rosie!
...the fat as well as the fatheaded left!!!
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