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Off Topic: What's the Most Trans Fat You've Seen?
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 30, 2006 5:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

KFC Corp. said Monday it will start using zero trans fat soybean oil for its Original Recipe and Extra Crispy fried chicken, Potato Wedges and other menu items.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061030/ap_on_he_me/diet_trans_fat_ban_11
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jimjimjim9



Joined: 18 Jul 2005
Posts: 29

PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 1:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

As the Colonel goes, so goes the nation. Maybe?

Sadly, the KFC Biscuit remains unchanged, at more than 5 gm transfat per 100 gm serving. At this ratio it surely qualifies for a famed status in our Hall of Heavies.

Related: Misinformation continues to rule:

On NBC news tonight in a short piece on transfat spurred by the KFC shift, Brian Williams turned a talking head expert for an explanation of What are transfats?" I did not catch her title name or position (FDA? Resident MD expert?), but in 20 seconds she managed to further confuse the issue:

1) "They are fake fats" (No: they are real, modified by catalyzed hydrogenation to fill bond sites)

2) "They have only been in the food industry for 20 or so years" (No, she may be thinking of McD's shift from beef tallow frying in early 90's, but they've been in the industry for over 100 years)

3) "They have pretty much disappeared from crackers (etc)" (No, though progress has been made. Maybe she too is duped by the FDA's "0.5 gms = 0 gms."

4) "They aren't necessary". While the food industry is finding substitutes, it is very understandable that they have historically seen them as "necessary" from a cost/shelf stabilty standpoint.

Related: Another positive development:

Since "shelf stability" (= profit) is the central issue, it turns out that some soybean breeders at Iowa State have bred (in non GMO fashion) a strain very low in linoleic acid, which is the fatty acid quickest to go rancid.

http://www.notrans.iastate.edu/
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eltonyo



Joined: 02 Nov 2005
Posts: 88
Location: WA

PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 1:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jimjimjim9 wrote:
As the Colonel goes, so goes the nation. Maybe?

Sadly, the KFC Biscuit remains unchanged, at more than 5 gm transfat per 100 gm serving. At this ratio it surely qualifies for a famed status in our Hall of Heavies.



and so goes mcdonalds.... who has already been sued over this issue.

their biscuits and breakfasts are some of the worse offenders and will remain, despite their promises to switch over years ago.

of course other nations like denmark have simply passed laws to ban such use of toxins. many others are on the ban wagon

but not in america.... (that would violate "big business" ethics)
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Ana R Chy
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 9:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
of course other nations like denmark have simply passed laws to ban such use of toxins. many others are on the ban wagon

but not in america.... (that would violate "big business" ethics)


why should we have laws against it? if people want to hurt themselves by eating trans fatty foods, then let them. The information is out there and it's everywhere.
vote with your wallet. go into the jiffy mart and buy yourself a water and a granola bar instead of patronizing these big businesses. but don't hand over your rights to the government. why? because the government is highly ineffective and a payoff from McDonalds will do much more to sway the government's minds than a few educated and reasonable demands.
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Mark
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 6:14 pm    Post subject: Off Topic: What's the Most Trans Fat You've Seen? Reply with quote

Now you know why "hydrogenated oils" have such a long shelf life - not even microorganisms consider them food.

I wonder if donuts and pies will again be made with lard. Oh no ! Its saturated fat ! Yup, but it's more natural than alternatives...

Mmmmm donuts...
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STL Cook
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 3:13 am    Post subject: Trans-fat free crackers Reply with quote

Making your own biscuits takes about 1/2 hour, once you've practiced once or twice, and that includes baking time. Less if you used self-rising flour. And I just found a recipe in "How to Cook Everything" for crackers. Four ingrediants, roll out, bake 10 minutes. Funny, it had never occurred to me before that crackers were something you could make for yourself at home. Reminds me of when I was 12, visiting a friend, and discovered that mashed potatoes didn't necessarily come from a can of white powder...
I do believe that if a label says "No Trans Fat" (as opposed to just listing 0 grams on the chart) it really does have to be trans fat free.
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Mary
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 11:38 pm    Post subject: Crisco with no trans fats Reply with quote

I was intriqued by jimjimjim9 who asked about using trans fat free Crisco. Is it as good as regular Crisco. Well, I'm happy to report, yes. I used it for the first time making pie crust last night and I could see no discernable difference. It was just as light and flaky and the trans fat loaded regular Crisco. I'll be using it from now on.
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eltonyo



Joined: 02 Nov 2005
Posts: 88
Location: WA

PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 3:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ana R Chy wrote:
Quote:
of course other nations like denmark have simply passed laws to ban such use of toxins. many others are on the ban wagon

but not in america.... (that would violate "big business" ethics)


why should we have laws against it? if people want to hurt themselves by eating trans fatty foods, then let them. The information is out there and it's everywhere.
vote with your wallet. go into the jiffy mart and buy yourself a water and a granola bar instead of patronizing these big businesses. but don't hand over your rights to the government. why? because the government is highly ineffective and a payoff from McDonalds will do much more to sway the government's minds than a few educated and reasonable demands.


um no... that's the point. the information may be out there, to those of us media/internet whores.... but to your elder mums and pops, and other worldly figures who make up the mass majority of the population who do not hump the web.... .IT AIN'T WELL KNOWN!!!!
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a food engineer
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 7:58 pm    Post subject: Trans fats Reply with quote

Basically jimjimjim and a few others got it right. Otherwise some of the facts and observations are skewed.
Background: The food industry went from saturated fats with cholesterol (animal fats) and saturated "tropical" fats to hydrogenated vegetable (mostly domestic) due to a whole raft of public outcry about how sat fats and cholesterol were going to be the death of us all (late 80s I believe). Some guy even took out full page ads saying so to frighten us further. At the time conventional wisdom said the trans were healthier, tho there were some that disagreed.
When studies started coming in to the contrary, the food industry said a collective "oh cr@p" because for a bunch of reasons, but mainly because you need to use either saturated or trans fatty acids to get the solid fats you have to have for products that use shortening or butter or lard (that's why biscuits usually are showing high trans levels) or to keep fat from oxidizing, meaning rancid (why "fast food" has high trans, except if you're paying attention it's really just deep-fried--and biscuits). There are some substitutes, but they are more expensive and usually don't work as well in some aspect or another.
Then to make everyone crazy there ARE naturally-occuring trans fatty acids in meat and milk from "ruminant animals" (cows and such) And even better certain of THOSE fatty acids appear to provide health benefits.
And to make all of us still crazier, I just saw a study that said maybe one of the newer replacements may not be all that great healthwise either.
As for what goes on re: digestion and such, I will leave that for those who study biochemical processes in nutrition.
Practically, I have to go with the person who suggested moderation. Smile
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jimjimjim9



Joined: 18 Jul 2005
Posts: 29

PostPosted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 2:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Crisco has reformulated to "trans fat free" as in FDA guidelines. Still some lurking trans in there, but a significant move from the company that first put transfat in every home cupboard.

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070126/BIZ/701260338/1001
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transfatcrusader
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 6:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

5 grams of trans fat on that new Orville Redenbacher popcorn. Heart attack in a bag!!!
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Thor



Joined: 24 Jul 2006
Posts: 112
Location: Camp Hill, PA

PostPosted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 9:45 pm    Post subject: Cookies Reply with quote

Keebler Chips Deluxe "Coconut", "Peanut Butter Cup", "Rainbow" and "Fudge Striped" include 1.5g trans fat per each 15g cookie. There are about 34 cookies per container.

So, pour a glass of milk and crack open a bag. The sky's the limit !!!!
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 7:36 am    Post subject: RE: 0 trans fat. Reply with quote

Just out of curiosity, why are people having so much trouble coming to terms with the fact that less than 0.5 g of trans fat is considered 0?

You have to have a cut off. Every measuring scale is only as accurate as half the increments. Zero is never zero - it's always +/- some amount.

Speed cameras are accurate +/- 5 to 10% depending on conditions. Construction tolerances are +/- 5 to 10 mm for road pavements. etc
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Michael Chu



Joined: 10 May 2005
Posts: 1654
Location: Austin, TX (USA)

PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:06 am    Post subject: Re: RE: 0 trans fat. Reply with quote

Anonymous wrote:
Just out of curiosity, why are people having so much trouble coming to terms with the fact that less than 0.5 g of trans fat is considered 0?

I think a lot of the issue comes from the fact that it's 0.5 g of trans fat per serving. In the cookie example from Thor, it's unlikely an individual will be eating only one serving (one cookie). Most people when they eat cookies, they eat three or four. If a different brand cookie contained 0.4 g of trans fat, then the individual would be unknowingly consuming 1.2-1.6 g of trans fat when we thought he was consuming none. If he chose the second brand on the basis that it contianed no trans fat, then he unknowingly consumed the same amount of trans fat as if he ate a serving of the Keebler cookie.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 8:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
... 0.4 g of trans fat, then the individual would be unknowingly consuming 1.2-1.6 g of trans fat when we thought he was consuming none


Granted that you get a cumulative build up due to rounding errors - but regardless of how it is measured, they still need to draw the line somewhere.

Would it be worth recommending to FDA that to address this issue that the measurements be adjusted so that it is percentage based ? I'd have thought most packaging would show per 100 g quantities as well. Which would then mean that you have the percentage shown.

In reality, whereever you draw the line for the measurement - it is still going to have cumulative rounding errors.
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