All food producers in the US have until 2018 to reformulate and remove partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) from their products, as the US Food and Drug Administration has ruled that PHOs, a major source of artificial “trans fats” are not ‘generally regarded as safe’ and should be removed from human food products, according to an official FDA press release.
“The FDA’s action on this major source of artificial “trans fats” demonstrates the agency’s commitment to the heart health of all Americans,” said FDA’s Acting Commissioner Stephen Ostroff, M.D. “This action is expected to reduce coronary heart disease and prevent thousands of fatal heart attacks every year.”
Partially hydrogenated oils are used by food manufacturers to improve the texture, shelf life, and flavor stability of foods. For the frozen food segment, PHOs are generally found in frozen pizza, frozen dough, ready-to-use frostings, frozen pies and other frozen baked products, according to the FDA.
The FDA has set a compliance period of three years. This will allow companies to either reformulate products without PHOs and/or petition the FDA to permit specific uses of PHOs. Following the compliance period, no PHOs can be added to human food unless they are otherwise approved by the FDA.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) issued a statement in response to the FDA’s announcement: “GMA is pleased that FDA has acted in a manner that both addresses FDA’s concerns and minimizes unnecessary disruptions to commerce. GMA will work in collaboration with FDA to further reduce PHOs in foods. The delayed effective date for FDA’s Notice of Final Determination regarding the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status of Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs) provides time needed for food manufacturers to complete their transition to suitable alternatives and/or seek food additive approval. Food and beverage companies have already voluntarily lowered the amount of trans fat added to food products by more than 86 percent and will continue lowering PHO use in foods.”