

By Duane Graveline, MD, MPH

In November, 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it would begin a process that would take artificial trans fats entirely out of the food supply, a move hailed as "lifesaving" by many health experts. Those in the field of public health have known for years that there really is no safe level of consumption of trans fat.

This is part of the FDA statement on trans fat. “Based on new scientific evidence and the findings of expert scientific panels, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tentatively determined that partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), which are the primary dietary source of industrially-produced transfatty acids, or trans fat, are not generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for any use in food based on current scientific evidence establishing the health risks associated with the consumption of trans fat, and therefore that PHOs are food additives.”

In June of 2015, the FDA confirmed that they were giving trans fats a designation of “not generally recognized as safe” and that all trans fats were to be removed from processed foods within three years.

Dr. Fred Kummerow, a biochemist and food scientist, has worked in the field of nutrition for over 70 years. He began documenting his concerns about the negative effects of trans fats in 1957 and continues to work on the dietary prevention of heart disease at the age of 101. His book is titled “Cholesterol is Not the Culprit, A Guide to Preventing Heart Disease.”

Dr. Kummerow, has devoted almost his entire working life to lipid research and for decades has petitioned the FDA to take action on this matter. The action taken by the FDA is long overdue. Although the FDA neglected to mention Dr. Fred Kummerow in their decision to ban all trans fats in the US, there is no doubt that the decades of work of this internationally renowned lipidologist played a major role in their decision.

Dr. Kummerow adds, “Perhaps the FDA will in due course be courageous enough to acknowledge the overwhelming weight of evidence and go to the root of the matter and prohibit not just trans fats but the partial hydrogenation process that generates trans fats. Their present action will benefit only the citizens of the US. The populations of the rest of the world, particularly in Asia, Africa and Latin America, will continue to be exposed to higher levels of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (trans fats) leading to increased cardiovascular deaths.”



