Confusion Over Transfats/ Partially Hydrogenated Oils

[My3Boys]

Okay, we are always being told to stay away from anything hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated because they contain dangerous transfats. What if something is listed has having partially hydrogenated oils of some kind but also says it contains no transfats?

 

I am thinking in particular of powdered coffee creamer.

 

What am I missing in this?

[yslek]

Probably the levels are low enough that they can legally say 'no transfats'. :glare: If it has hydrogenated oils, it has transfats, by definition. I wouldn't use it.:tongue_smilie:

[FaithManor]

If the level is less than one gram of trans fat per serving size, the USDA allows them to use a no transfats label. The food conglomerates that want to use this chemically altered, but cheap, preservative petitioned the government for some way of sneaking it in.....it's dishonest but government sanctioned.

 

Faith

[Gwenhwyfar]

every time you turn around, "they" say something else is bad..

 

powdered coffee mate is just gross on its own terms :laugh:

 

try these creamers ~ YUM. :D

 

(and no fair! i see some flavours there that we don't seem to have in canada)

[My3Boys]

Unfortunately, I need to stay away from milk and cream because of the high fat and cholesterol content.

[Pretty in Pink]

Right. Hydrogenated oils always equal trans fats; however, if there are fewer than 1 g of trans fats per serving the item can be marketed as 'no trans fats'.

[mirth]

.

[*********]

Probably the levels are low enough that they can legally say 'no transfats'. :glare: If it has hydrogenated oils, it has transfats, by definition. I wouldn't use it.:tongue_smilie:

 

My nutrition professor just lectured on this.

 

They make the serving size so small that they can *legally claim that there's 'no trans fat' in it. That is, theres so little per serving size that they don't have to list it on the label.

 

But yes, hydrogenated oil = trans fat. So if there's a hydrogenated oil in the ingredients, there's trans fat in the product.

 

For example, if there's .49 grams of trans fat in a teaspoon of creamer, and they decide to use a teaspoon as a 'serving size', then they can legally say there's no trans fat in the creamer. Gee, I wonder why they'd use a teaspoon as the serving size instead of a tablespoon in that case. :001_rolleyes: So if the container of creamer is, say, 8oz, that's what, 48 teaspoons. 48 teaspoons times .49g of trans fat per teaspoon equals 23.52 g of trans fat in the container of creamer. That's a lot more than 0. :glare:

 

Quite the loophole, if you ask me.

[mirth]

Hydrogenated oils always equal trans fats;

 

Hydrogenation could also result in cis fatty acids. See Einstein's Cook blurb above.

[Gwenhwyfar]

Unfortunately, I need to stay away from milk and cream because of the high fat and cholesterol content.

 

assuming that the product is relatively the same in the US as it is in canada (aside from you guys having more awesome flavours!) a lot of them are available in fat-free. :D

 

(i have to watch the fat content of foods as well - and limit dairy in general as too much doesn't like me.)