In light of recent news reports, we wanted to share some information about trans fat. We also encourage you to learn more from the many sources of nutrition and health information available to everyone. Links to a few of these sources of trans fat information appear at the bottom of this page. At Kraft, we know that good nutrition is an important consideration for many consumers, and we strive to offer a wide range of high quality products that allow people to make healthy food choices.
Trans fat (also known as trans fatty acids) is formed when hydrogen atoms are added to liquid oils (in a process called partial hydrogenation) to form solid fats like shortening and oils for use in baking, frying or cooking. 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. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils function better in certain food applications: they give foods the desirable tastes and textures people expect. Partially hydrogenated oils may be found in vegetable shortenings, margarines, crackers, candies, cookies, snack foods, fried foods and other processed foods. Developing alternatives to trans fat that can improve nutrition while maintaining the same taste, texture and freshness has been a challenge for the food industry. However, progress is being made in reducing the trans fat content of many foods. In fact, Kraft has successfully completed a multi-year, voluntary trans fat reduction effort in the US while retaining great taste and ensuring that, in nearly every reformulated product, the combination of saturated fat plus trans fat did not increase compared to the original formulation.
Dietary guidance regarding trans fat is still evolving. As of July 2003, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded that, although the science supports a relationship between trans fat intake and risk of coronary heart disease, the scientific evidence did not provide the type of "quantitative information" necessary to establish Daily Recommended Values for trans fat. In 2002, the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine (NAS/IOM) concluded that saturated fat, trans fat and dietary cholesterol all raise blood LDL cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol). According to NAS/IOM, some evidence also suggests that intake of trans fat lowers HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol).
The NAS/IOM report recognized that trans fat is unavoidable in ordinary diets and that trying to eliminate trans fat from the diet entirely would require significant changes in eating patterns that may introduce undesirable dietary effects. Thus, it recommended that "trans fat consumption be as low as possible while consuming a nutritionally adequate diet." The 2005 edition of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended cutting back on saturated and trans fat, while keeping total fat intake from exceeding 35% of calories. In a 2004 report, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee stated: "The relationship between trans fatty acid intake and LDL cholesterol is direct and progressive, increasing the risk of CHD. Trans fatty acid consumption by all population groups should be kept as low as possible, which is about 1 percent of energy intake of the diet or less."
The 2001 report of the National Cholesterol Education Program recommends that trans fat intake "should be kept low." The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that, for people without coronary heart disease, diabetes or high LDL cholesterol, saturated fat and trans fat intake together should be less than 10% of total calories.
The FDA is the final authority on food labeling in the U.S. and determines how nutrition information on food labels should be communicated to consumers. Kraft Foods believes that trans fat labeling can help consumers make informed food choices, and supports the FDA’s decision to require trans fat labeling. Kraft products list the amount of trans fat per serving on the Nutrition Facts panel in accordance with US food-labeling regulations.
As part of Kraft's overall Health and Wellness initiatives, we're continually working on ways to enhance the nutritional profiles of our products, while delivering on consumers' expectations for quality and good taste. As a result, seven Kraft categories undertook significant reformulation efforts across their product lines, including: Cereal, Cookies, Crackers, Pizza, Desserts, Meals and Oscar Mayer. Many favorite Kraft brands, such as Kraft Easy Mac, DiGiorno Thin Crispy Crust Pizza, original Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, Wheat Thins Crackers and Jell-O Pudding Snacks will now be labeled as containing 0g trans fat per serving.