Industrially produced trans fat in foods in australia

Selected foods sampled from Australian supermarkets and fast food outlets were analyzed for trans fat (TF) content. The product with the highest amount of TF (6.3 g/100 g product) was a household shortening. The TF contents in spreads were remarkably low (average 0.5, range 0.2-1.3 g/100 g product) with only 3 out of 15 exceeding the maximum level (2.0 g/100 g fat) permitted in Denmark. Ready-to-eat French fries purchased from all but one (1.5 g/100 g product) fast food outlet contained generally low levels of TF (average 0.4, range 0.3-0.7 g/100 g product), and the majority of the outlets appeared to have used non-hydrogenated vegetable oils for frying. Frozen French fries and ready-to-eat potato chips purchased from supermarkets were also low in TF (average 0.1 and 0.2 g/100 g product, respectively). So were the bakery products (biscuits, cakes, bread, cake and muffin mixes) except for croissants. However, 9 out of the 103 products tested would have been prohibited from sale in Denmark, while 25 and 12 products would have failed to qualify for 'trans fat-free' claims according to the mandatory labeling regulations currently in force in Canada the USA, respectively.