The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has rejected calls for a ban of trans fats in the UK.
Doctors writing in the British Medical Journal have called for for trans-fats to be banned from the UK – claiming it would help save thousands of lives and prevent thousands of heart attacks every year. Trans-fats are chemically altered vegetable oils which increase the shelf life of food products but have no nutritional value. They are found in many cakes, pastries, pies, chips and fast foods.
However the FSA said that the consumption of trans-fats in the UK is about 1% of total energy intake and therefore should not be seen as a cause for concern.
In 2007, the FSA carried out a review of trans-fats and said the current position, which is to encourage the food industry to remove many trans-fats voluntarily, is working and that there is no need for legislation.
Rachel Cooke, a dietician and spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association, said: “When it comes to something that saves lives then we should be looking at it. We also need to get food labelling sorted out in the UK – people are so frustrated by the different labelling systems.
“If we gave them a standard labelling system they would be able to start making these choices for themselves.”
