Trans fats are a type of fat that can have a negative effect on human health and are not essential to the diet. In 2003, the FDA made a ruling that trans fats must be listed on the nutrition label. However, there's a loophole: Products can say there’s 0 g of trans fat per serving, as long as there’s less than 0.5 grams.
References
American Heart Association. (2017). Trans fat.
Food and Drug Administration. (2023). Trans fat.
Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Examination of Front-of-Package Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols. (2010). History of nutrition labeling. Front-of-Package Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols: Phase I Report.
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Brittany DoohanBrittany Doohan was the Content Director at HealthiNation and is currently the Editorial Director at Medscape. Through her work with Medscape, she won a Silver Telly Award in May 2022 for "Sleepless Nation: A Public Health Epidemic — Episode 2: A Decade Without a Diagnosis." She has worked in health journalism and video production for more than 8 years, and loves the challenge of explaining complex topics in an easy-to-understand and creative way.
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Mandy Armitage, MDMandy Armitage, MD, has combined clinical medicine with her passion for education and content development for many years. She served as medical director for the health technology companies HealthLoop (now Get Well) and Doximity.
