The Food and Drug Administration recently proposed eliminating all trans fats from the American food supply. According to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, “Further reduction in the amount of trans fat in the American diet could prevent an additional 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year – a critical step in the protection of Americans’ health.”
Many food manufacturers have already taken trans fats out of their products, but the makers of one favorite snack will find this quite a challenge. Most brands of microwave popcorn still contain trans fats, although the Orville Redenbacher brand has been able to replace them with acceptable substitutes. The manufacturer reports that this took years and a lot of expensive research and development. Other popcorn makers are now casting about for ways to make tasty microwave popcorn without the artery-clogging fats.
