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On the heels of a Food and Drug Administration ruling requiring food manufacturers to list the amount of trans fatty acids in their products on nutrition labels beginning in January 2006, trans fats may now also be getting a well-deserved boot in France.

A March 2005 report commissioned by France’s food standards agency, Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments, recommends the amount of trans fats, currently listed as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil on food labels, be significantly reduced. Following the United States’ lead, it also asks that the labeling of such fats be obligatory.

If France moves forward with these recommendations, there will be some serious reformulations required by manufacturers. Hydrogenated oils are integral ingredients in a huge variety of processed products, including cookies, cereals, crackers, pastries, potato chips and microwave popcorn.

Although studies have shown trans fats to be detrimental to health, manufacturers use the hydrogenation process to help stabilize liquid oil, solidify it to extend shelf life, and reduce costs while improving flavor and texture.

Of all fats, trans fats pose the highest risk of heart disease. They not only raise levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the “bad” cholesterol, they also deplete high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the “good” cholesterol. In fact, a July 2002 report from the U.S. National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine concluded that people should consume as little trans fat as possible. But avoiding trans fats can be hard to do. In the United States, prepared cookies and crackers range from 30 to 50 percent trans fatty acids and doughnuts have about 35 to 40 percent. French fries top the list at about 40 percent. So the best strategy: Read labels before buying.

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