Food Police

[MtnBiker]

Group Seeks to Ban Type of Fat from Foods
Tue May 18, 2004 10:37 AM ET

By Lisa Richwine
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. consumer group asked the government on Tuesday to ban food processors and restaurants from using a type of artery-clogging fat found in pastries, cookies, crackers and deep-fried foods.

The ingredient, called partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, is formed when food processors harden liquid oil to make it more solid. It is the main source in Americans' diets of trans fat, which raises cholesterol and increases the risk of heart disease.

Removing partially hydrogenated vegetable oil from the food supply could save between 11,000 and 30,000 lives each year, the consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest said in a petition to the Food and Drug Administration.

"Getting rid of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is probably the single easiest, fastest, cheapest way to save tens of thousands of lives each year," said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the consumer group.

Full Story

 

[nycflasher]

I've heard of worse ideas.

That hydro veggie oil is pretty nasty.
I think it's an ingredient in processed peanut butter--which I eat alot of;-( and is one of the fattiest foods out there-- so if you can, start buying the fresh-ground natural peanut butter.

 

[MtnBiker]

Numerous fast food restuarants use this type of oil to deep fry food with because it is the cheapest to buy.

 

[nycflasher]

Originally posted by MtnBiker
Numerous fast food restuarants use this type of oil to deep fry food with because it is the cheapest to buy.

Yeah, that doesn't surprise me.
Three cheers for ingenuity and thrift.
Three cheers for fatass Americans.

Hard to imagine a law actually being passed banning it.

I'm all for labeling every food product out there so you know what you are getting and when it was packed, but if they take my Oreos away(yes, I know the filling has hydro veg. in it) I'm moving to Canada!

 

[MtnBiker]

You know what the sad thing is, alot of restuarants may not even be aware of the types of ingredients in their food they sell, despite the fact that all the food is labelled with an ingredient list.

Try this sometime, at a local diner ask the server if the ranch dressing has MSG in it. Unless the server has been asked the question before he/she will have no idea. So then the server will ask one of the cooks, again likely not to know. A search in the kitchen for the dressing mix or gallon jug will ensue to find a label and after about 5 minutes you will get your answer.

 

[nycflasher]

Originally posted by MtnBiker
You know what the sad thing is, alot of restuarants may not even be aware of the types of ingredients in their food they sell, despite the fact that all the food is labelled with an ingredient list.

Try this sometime, at a local diner ask the server if the ranch dressing has MSG in it. Unless the server has been asked the question before he/she will have no idea. So then the server will ask one of the cooks, again likely not to know. A search in the kitchen for the dressing mix or gallon jug will ensue to find a label and after about 5 minutes you will get your answer.

You know, I worked in restaurants for years as a waiter/bartender, and I have seen more than I care to.

You are absolutely right, these people push products they don't know the contents of and if you piss the chef off you can be sure he did something gross to your steak before serving it to you.