Big changes may be afoot in the food industry. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revealed that it wants to ban the use of trans fats in all processed foods. The move is not set in stone just yet, but there are indications that it could become a concrete regulation in the coming months.
According to the FDA the consumption of trans fats has declined drastically in recent years as awareness about the dangers they pose pervaded consumer and producer mentalities. The cultural change has not been big enough to prevent the deaths of millions, and the agency is now looking to ban the substances by law.
FDA trans fat ban
The FDA wants to get rid of trans fat because the substance causes cardiovascular problems. Americans have reduced their consumption of trans fats by around 80% in the last decade because of better education about the substance, and producers volunteering to reduce or remove the substance from products.
The agency is opening a sixty-day review process in order to collect more information about trans fat usage from the public and food producers. After the review process is over the FDA may decide to ban the use of trans fats, or it may decide to abandon the idea. If a ban is brought in it would likely be in the form of a slow process that comes into effect over a number of years.
Trans fat danger
The FDA says that a reduction could prevent up to 20,000 heart attacks every year. The agency said that 7,000 lives could be saved each year by cutting down the amount of trans fats that Americans consume every day. Trans fat is a danger to the lives of millions of people. Banning the substance will hit parts of the food industry, but it could be good for the overall health of the country.
The ban of trans fats is going to be a difficult measure to pass for the FDA. The agency will have to battle with powerful food producers who do not want to be forced to change their processes and recipes. If the measure does manage to get through it will change the way parts of the food industry operate. It’s certainly a move that investors should watch out for.
