Almost two-thirds of American adults either believe that all trans fats are unhealthy or don’t understand the health aspects associated to the trans fats in food, a consumer survey from Coast Packing Company and Ipsos Research has revealed.
“A great many consumers don’t understand the difference between artificial and natural trans fats because they simply haven’t been told,” said Eric Gustafson, CEO of Coast Packing Company, which describes itself as the leading supplier of animal fat shortenings in the US west.
Artificial vs natural trans fats
The survey of 1,000 US adults sought to understand how informed American citizens are when it comes to the cholesterol-raising fat. The report revealed that “a vast majority” were not aware of the different types of trans fats, with many ignorant of the fact that not all trans fats are created equal.
Gustafson said one of the reason for this lack of knowledge was that the food labelling did not educate consumers on the nutritional differences between artificial and naturally occurring trans fats.
Income, too, played a big part in the awareness of trans fats with higher earners more likely not to choose foods with a high trans-fat content. Of those earning over $50,000, the consumer survey found 40% said trans fats were off limits. This number fell to 30% when considering those on an annual salary of less than $50,000.
“Trans fats in processed foods have long been regarded, correctly, as a public health problem, but the discussion has rarely called out the distinction between toxic artificial trans fats and potentially healthful natural trans fats,” added Gustafson. “Today, nutrition labels don’t make it clear, so it’s not surprising that confusion prevails in the marketplace.
“It’s important to recognise, first and foremost, the natural make-up of both lard and beef tallow,” Gustafson said. “Neither contains the artificial trans fats you find in hydrogenated shortenings. We believe strongly that these products are best when minimally processed, which is consistent with the whole movement in food and cooking right now. In addition, the polyunsaturates in lard and tallow are also higher than in other shortenings and oils, so there’s some real benefit there.”