Food manufacturers and restaurants have successfully reformulated products to reduce trans fats without increasing saturated fat content, according to new research published in the
New England Journal of Medicine.
“We investigated changes in the levels of trans fat and saturated fat in major brand-name U.S. supermarket and restaurant foods that were reformulated to reduce trans fatty acid content from 1993 through 2006 (first evaluation) and 2008 through 2009 (second evaluation),” Harvard researchers wrote in correspondence with the medical journal.
Analysis identified 83 reformulated products (58 supermarket foods and 25 restaurant foods). Researchers found that trans fat content was reduced to less than 0.5 grams per serving in 95% of the supermarket products and 80% of the restaurant products analyzed; mean absolute reductions were 1.8 grams per serving (84 percentage points) and 3.3 grams per serving (92 percentage points), respectively.
After reformulation, 65% of the supermarket products and 90% of the restaurant products had levels of saturated fat that were lower, unchanged or only slightly higher (<0.5 grams per serving) than before reformulation. The average content of saturated fat in supermarket foods increased slightly owing to increases in one third of the products analyzed; the average content of saturated fat in restaurant foods decreased.”
Reductions in levels of trans fat nearly always exceeded any increase in levels of saturated fat; after reformulation, the overall content of both fats combined was reduced in 90% (52 of 58) of the supermarket products and 96% (24 of 25) of the restaurant products, with average total reductions of 1.2 grams and 3.9 grams per serving, respectively.
“No exhaustive national database exists of product-specific changes in trans fat and saturated fat over time; this analysis represents a broad new assessment of U.S. reformulations,” researchers wrote. “According to our analysis, major brand-name reformulations generally reduced the trans fat content substantially without making equivalent increases in saturated fat content. In fact, in most restaurant foods, levels of saturated fat were also reduced. In most restaurant and supermarket foods, there was a reduction in the total combined level of trans fat and saturated fat.”
Researchers added that there is still “room for improvement in reformulation strategies.” However, “Our findings do not support concerns that voluntary or mandatory reductions in trans fat from partially hydrogenated oils would lead to broad increases in the saturated fat content of U.S. foods.”