HomeFoodFat quizWhere's trans fat on the label?

In this report

Related Information

Reports:

close Print
- Print page
- Print whole report
print
comments (4)
calculators
close Calculators
- Take the fat quiz
share

Fat quiz Updated: 25 Apr 2010

Where's trans fat on the label?

So, if it's mandatory to label the amount of saturated fat in foods, and trans fats act just like saturated fat in the body, why aren't they listed in the nutrition panel?

Under the current Food Standards Code, only total fat and saturated fat need to be labelled unless there's a claim made on the packaging about mono, poly or trans fats, in which case they must then be labelled.

Under Department of Food and Drug Administration regulations in the United States, the labelling of trans fat became mandatory in 2006.

Unfortunately even if this is eventually accepted here, takeaway and restaurant meals are excluded from nutrition labelling laws, and they're a primary source of trans fats in the diet. But at least packaged foods such as cakes, chocolate, biscuits and frozen meals would be required to disclose the amount of trans fat in them, giving you a better idea how much 'bad' fat overall you're eating. Perhaps it might even be an incentive for manufacturers to reduce the amount their products contain.

For now, you'll have to rely on checking the ingredient list for ingredients such as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil - but it's still no guarantee.