Out of the frying pan?

Fears are growing over a media-led backlash to the use of alternatives to cholesterol-raising trans fats, otherwise known as trans fatty acids.

Oil and fat experts fear that alternative processes being used to emulate the shelf-life and flavour stabilising properties of trans fats could cause equal concern to consumers if newspapers got wind of the processes being considered.

Trans fats are produced by the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils in the manufacture of biscuits, cakes and confectionery. They are known to raise cholesterol levels and contribute towards coronary heart disease. One alternative is to blend fully hydrogenated fats (hard fats) with more liquid oils or fats to match the functionalities of partially hydrogenated fats. But they would have to be declared as hydrogenated.

The concern is that many consumers mistakenly believe that fully hydrogenated fats are equally as bad. "I don't know whether consumers understand hydrogenation," said one consultant. "They certainly don't realise that you can have complete hydrogenation without trans fats," he said.

More manufacturers are reformulating their products as pressure grows for legislation to restrict the use of trans fats within the European Union.

Marks & Spencer announced in November that it would be removing partially hydrogenated fats from all foods by mid-2006, while Tesco has also announced its intention to remove hydrogenated fats from its ready meals. Elsewhere, cereal company Kellogg is reformulating some of its products with a low linolenic soybean oil to reduce ?trans fats.

This month also sees the introduction of new legislation in the US forcing manufacturers there to list the level of trans fats on their nutritional labels. So far, Denmark is the only country to ban the use of oils and fats if they have more than 2% of trans fats.