ASA Position: FDA-required labeling of the trans fats in foods may drive some food manufacturers to take the unhealthy step of substituting tropical oils for soybean oil. Such action would increase consumers’ overall saturated fat intake. ASA is working with others in the soybean industry to offer trans fat solutions, including new processing methods and changing the composition of soybeans. Legume genomics and QualiSoy research (mentioned above) are key to these efforts

Background: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that food labels must list trans fat on nutrition labels beginning no later than January 1, 2006. The new rule is the first significant change on the Nutrition Facts panel since it was established in 1993.

Soy oil and soyfoods in and of themselves do not contain any trans fats. Trans fats are created when vegetable oils are hydrogenated in order to make them more solid and useful for certain food industry applications such as frying and baking. Trans fats also occur naturally in meat and dairy products.

While the new regulations do not take effect until 2006, some food companies are already labeling for trans fat. Frito-Lay began listing trans fats on its products earlier this year. McDonald’s has announced plans to stop using trans fats in cooking French fries. Kraft Foods plans to reformulate many of its products to reduce levels of trans fats.

ASA followed development of the new labeling requirement closely and weighed in on its content several times. ASA pointed to research showing that FDA’s proposal to footnote trans fat would cause consumers to consider trans fat as the primary factor in their decision-making, overlooking information about calories, total fat, sodium, saturated fat, and cholesterol. FDA’s new label does not include this footnote.

ASA has also written to FDA about consumer research on trans fat labeling. FDA is proposing an experimental study of possible trans-fat related footnotes on the nutrition facts panel on foods. Among those will be a combined Daily Value for saturated fat and trans fat. As part of the Trans Fat Industry Coalition, ASA continues to monitor FDA’s trans fat label requirements.

ASA submitted comments for both the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and Food Guide Pyramid Reassessment Team, highlighting the industry's response to concerns about trans fats. ASA's comments document that several processing technologies have been developed that transform the chemical and physical properties of soybean oil so that

the end product has few or no trans fats. In addition to processing technologies, the soybean industry is actively pursuing near-term improvements in soybean germplasm that will sharply reduce or eliminate trans fats in food products.