EDA says natural trans fat-stance backed by parliament

The European Dairy Association (EDA) suggests that new findings by the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) back its own theory that there is a distinction between fatty acids.​

“The report authors mentioned that it is important to make a clear distinction between naturally occurring and industrially produced TFA when developing possible guidelines for action to reduce the intake,” ​stated the EDA. “Any legal restrictions should thus be limited to industrially produced TFA.”​

Trans fats​​

Industrially produced trans fats are formed during the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oil when converted into semi-solids for other food applications and have been linked through research to a number of health problems.

Trace amounts of TFAs are also found naturally in dairy and meat products, due to the rumen in milks, though clinical research has been less conclusive on the potential dangers of consuming these type fatty acids.

While groups like the EDA believe that a number of peer reviewed studies already support its view that TFAs naturally present in some meat and dairy are not harmful, other findings have suggested safety concerns regardless of how they are formed.

ENVI study ​

According to the EDA, the ENVI-commissioned report, which has not been seen by DairyReporter.com, provides background on the TFA issue for European politicians.

The findings outline a number of developments in the industry, including ‘considerable’ levels of evidence suggesting a causative link between industrially produced TFA and cardiovascular disease.

The ENVI report is also said to concur that naturally occurring TFA appears at much lower levels in foodstuffs than its synthetic industrial counterpart, concluding with a recommendation of a two per cent maximum limit on the fatty acids in any ingredient set for human consumption.

“​EDA believes that on the basis of the scientific evidence presented in this report, a limitation in the TFA content is only necessary for industrially produced TFA,”​ stated the association. “This is also the case in the Danish legislation, which excludes naturally occurring from the prohibition to use fats and oils containing more than two per cent of industrially produced TFA in foods destined for human consumption.”​

The jury is still out though on the naturally occurring TFA issue.

Back in November,​researchers from the VU University of Amsterdam used an oral presentation to outline findings of a study non-peer reviewed at the time. The presentation suggested concluded that TFAs may raise cholesterol no matter if they are industrially added or naturally occurring.

The university’s Ingeborg Brouwer PhD used the meeting of the American Heart Association to promote his theory that any diet high in trans fats, whether industrially or naturally-sourced, increased cholesterol levels and could be detrimental to heart health. The hypothesis relates to a nine-week study of 61 men and women at VU University, said Brouwer.