Trans fatty acids are fats created in the process of producing a vegetable fat that is hard at room temperature for use in shortening and stick margarines, and that is stable at high heat for use in frying and for products which require long shelf life. The process of producing a product with these characteristics requires heating liquid vegetable oil under high pressure in the presence of hydrogen and a catalyst. The result increases saturated fat levels and creates trans fat, which turns out to have serious health implications. Also, in the same process, essential omega-3 fatty acids are destroyed.

The evidence that trans fat is not a healthy component of food has been mounting since at least 1990 when its effect on blood lipids was investigated by Mensink and Katan. They showed that trans fat increased the LDL/HDL ratio by 29% (compared to 18% for saturated fat) as compared to monounsaturated fat ­ partly because it decreased HDL "good" cholesterol. Since then these findings have been shown in several other studies. In addition, trans fat intake has been linked directly to adverse health outcomes ­ including increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and type 2 diabetes. Using data from a study by Stampfer et al in the Physician's Health Study, we estimated that trans fat is responsible for 7% of all, or about 30,000, CHD deaths per year.

Upon learning of this information through participation in the Nutrition Roundtable at the Harvard School of Public Health, Roger Berkowitz, president and CEO of Legal Sea Foods, Inc., noted that he was preparing the healthiest of protein (fish) in the unhealthiest of fats and resolved to do something about it. This began a three year process of working with producers and suppliers of all of the products that he sold that contained trans fat to eliminate them.

The first step was to get the trans fat out of the oil Legal Seafoods used to fry its fish. This led Roger to Cargill and its Specialty Canola Oils division. There he worked with John Garner and Willie Loh to create a heavy duty frying oil using a form of canola oil that is high in oleic acid. This product is more heat stable, low in saturated fat, and does not contain trans fat.

With this source of trans fat on the menu addressed, Roger turned to other items. Fish is not the only thing fried in oil at Legal Seafoods; and the French fries, which can now be fried in the new oil at the restaurants, are pre-fried by the supplier. That required the identification of a supplier who would do the initial frying in trans-free oil. Working with Cargill and Lamb Weston, this product is now being supplied. Oyster crackers were another key item for Legal Sea Foods that contained trans fat. The big suppliers were not willing to eliminate hydrogenated oils from the formulation, but tried instead to get below the level per serving at which a no trans fat claim can be made, and this was not good enough. Roger found a small supplier in Vermont who would provide a trans-free cracker. One item remains for this corrective action ­ cheese dolphins on the children's menu. To date, efforts to remove trans have yielded cheese blobs, but not a product that will retain an identifiable shape.

In making these changes, in addition to solving the technical issues of producing a trans-free oil and finding producers and suppliers willing to cooperate, two factors had to be constantly attended to: taste and cost. If the product did not taste good or were too expensive, it simply would not sell. In a blind taste testing of the fish fried in the trans-containing oil and in the trans-free, the trans-free was judged the better tasting. Cost is more complicated. The trans-free high oleic canola oil is about 30% more expensive than the trans-containing product ­ but the food cooked in the trans-free absorbs less oil; the oil can be used for longer in the fryer; and it can be disposed of more safely because it is liquid at room temperature, possibly lowering insurance costs. In addition, products using the trans-free oil may be able to be sold with health claims which would have a value in the marketplace.

Willie Loh from Cargill gave the view of this process from the manufacturing perspective. As he pointed out ­ you can do anything with infinite time and infinite resources, but that is not the reality of industry. So how does industry respond to environmental and nutritional change?

Willie explained the role of Cargill as a strategic oil supplier to its customers and the evolution of products from animal fat to today's high oleic canola oil. Today, Cargill still renders a lot of animal fat but most of it now goes to Europe for industrial use. As animal fat fell out of favor, the next step in the evolution of oils for cooking was the change to tropical oils. These were high in saturated fats and during the 80's alternatives were again being sought. The hydrogenated oils were developed in response and still, as early as 1988, Cargill was engaged in discussions about where to go if trans-fat produced in the hydrogenation process turned out to be a problem. The effort to develop high oleic canola began almost 15 years ago. Cargill sees its role as providing options to the food industry and producing products with the characteristics needed for the different uses. For a cooking oil there are several such features: a good "mouth feel", an adequate heat transfer medium, and providing structure to baked goods and a moisture barrier for products such as raisins.

Another aspect of this kind of progression of change is the impact on production facilities. For example, a plant currently using trans fat which is solid at room temperature is not equipped to handle quantities of an oil that will be received in liquid form ­ it simply does not have adequate place to put it. Similarly, today's food products use trans containing oils with specified industry standards for heat and shelf life stability. In order to be adopted, any new trans-free oil must meet these functional criteria.

Margarine is also a product highly sensitive to fat composition. Ned Hentz, a member of the Nutrition Roundtable, is president and CEO of Olivio Products, which makes an olive oil-based spread. He too was attuned to the issues around trans fat through participation in the Roundtable. In addition to working to remove trans fat from their spread, they have developed a buttery pump spray with no trans as they continue to pursue healthy products. There are many interesting developments in the margarine field in response to concerns about various fats including trans fat. The shift away from stick margarine to soft tub margarine is partly in response to concerns on trans fat. Other experiments are underway to use different oils and processes. But margarine is a price sensitive item and it is not clear that a higher priced product will be viable in some markets based only on health claims.

The policy makers have recognized the health significance of trans fat and are requiring that it be reflected on the nutritional label by adding the trans fat content of the product. Now it will be in the hands of consumers to decide how much trans fat they are willing to consume and what price they will pay to reduce their intake ­ initiating a new round of technological innovation in the various components of the food industry, each with their sequellae of research on healthiness, production parameters, evolution of standards for taste and willingness to pay the price.

The evidence produced by scientific research on healthy diet and on the healthfulness of individual nutrients is the first step in the process of providing better nutrition. To succeed will require a better partnership among all of those in the "food chain" ­ from researcher to manufacturer, seller, policy maker and consumer.