Australian Green party say follow the U.S. and ban trans fat

The New South Wales Green Party wants the State Government to follow similar moves as those in the U.S. and ban 'trans fat' in foods.

Last week California became the first state in the United States to ban the use of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils - also known as artificial trans fat.

California will now have the same ban on trans fat as New York City and Philadelphia and will mean a ban on trans fat in all restaurants and other food establishments in the state.

The bill was signed off by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and prohibits restaurants from using trans fat in any form of fat including oil, margarine and shortening.

Trans fat has been linked to coronary heart disease and other chronic disease such as diabetes and the new law requires the use of trans fat in all California restaurants to be phased out by January 1, 2010 while baked foods must be free of trans fat by Jan 1, 2011.

Those who violate the new law face fines from $25 to $1,000.

Trans fats are natural liquid vegetable oils which are transformed into solid or semi-solid trans fat in a chemical process known as partial hydrogenation where hydrogen is added to the natural unsaturated fatty acids in vegetable oils.

Trans fats are widely used in processed foods to give them a longer shelf-life and improved flavour, texture and palatability.... they are commonly used in fried and baked goods.

Trans fat is worse than saturated fat because not only does it raise bad cholesterol, but it also knocks out good cholesterol - saturated fat only raises bad cholesterol.

Trans fat is a suspected culprit in promoting the inflammation implicated in many chronic diseases such as heart disease, heart attacks, diabetes as well as other chronic diseases and is also a suspect in infertility and may also affect learning ability and memory.

Experts believe there is no safety threshold for trans fat and advise consumers to completely avoid any intake.

According to the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. the main food sources of trans fat include cakes, cookies, crackers, pies, bread, animal products, margarine, fried potatoes, potato chips, corn chips, popcorn, shortening, salad dressing, breakfast cereal and candy.

The Greens say Australia needs to follow suit to stop people dying needlessly.