FDA adds trans fatty acids to food labels

The F-D-A plans to add another category of fat to those mandatory food labels in a few years. Doris Montgomery, a nutritionist with the Iowa Department of Public Health, says the unhealthy “trans fatty acids” or “trans fat” category will give consumers better information about what they’re buying.Montgomery says it won’t make an earth-shattering change in people’s diets but we’ll slowly see the food industry will look at finding ways to substitute the trans fat because they’ll know people will have the information and they’ll be looking for it. She says Iowa kids in particular are starting to get much more selective about eating fatty foods.The Nutrition Facts labeling was established in 1993. After a decade, Montgomery says many people have grown much more fat-conscious of what they do — and don’t — eat. Montgomery says 40-percent of the trans fat we eat comes from things like cakes, cookies, crackers and pies and another five-percent comes from chips and french fries. She says the new information will enable consumers to make a more informed choice about their food buys. She says the new fat information isn’t going to be required on labels until January 1 of 2006, but she says it will empower people to make healthier choices about what they eat.