Mandatory trans fat labeling regulations and nationwide product reformulations to reduce trans fatty acid content in foods contributed to lowered concentrations of trans fat in Canadian women's breast milk samples collected in 2009-2011.

BACKGROUND: Recent efforts in Canada to reduce industrial trans fatty acids (TFAs) in foods include mandated inclusion of TFA content on food labels and recommendations by Health Canada that encourage the food industry to voluntarily limit TFA content in all vegetable oils and soft margarines and in all other prepackaged foods to <2% and <5% of total fat, respectively. OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of these efforts, we measured the concentration of TFAs in human breast milk samples. DESIGN: The TFA content in 639 breast milk samples collected in 2009, 2010, and 2011 from breastfeeding mothers in 10 major cities across Canada was analyzed by gas chromatography. RESULTS: The mean (±SD) TFA contents were 2.7 ± 0.9% (n = 153, range: 1.4-7.2%), 2.2 ± 0.7% (n = 309, range: 1.0-6.8%), and 1.9 ± 0.5% (n = 177, range: 0.9-3.4%) of total milk fat for samples collected in 2009, 2010, and 2011, respectively. These values are considerably lower than the value of 7.2 ± 3.0% (range: 0.1-17.2%) found previously for Canadian human milk in 1992. On the basis of a linear correlation between the percentage of TFAs in the diet and human milk fat established by Craig-Schmidt et al, and assuming that 30% of energy of a lactating mother's diet is derived from fat, we estimated from the TFA human milk fat data that TFA intake of Canadian breastfeeding mothers was 0.9%, 0.5%, and 0.3% of total energy in 2009, 2010, and 2011, respectively. These estimated values are lower than the WHO's maximum recommended intake of 1% of total energy for a healthy diet. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the trans fat labeling regulations introduced in 2003 and recommendations by Health Canada in 2007 instructing the food manufacturers and restaurants to limit TFAs in foods have resulted in significant reductions in TFAs in the diets of Canadian breastfeeding mothers and their breast milk.

Trans and saturated fat on food labels in Canada: fact or fiction?

OBJECTIVE: Food labels are the number one source for nutrition information for Canadians, but are food labels accurate? This study aims to provide an assessment of the accuracy of the reported trans fatty acid and saturated fatty acid values on food labels in selected foods. METHODS: Over 380 samples of cookies, crackers, granola bars, breakfast bars and a variety of frozen foods were collected between 2005 and 2008 in the Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa and Vancouver, as part of Health Canada's Trans Fat Monitoring Program. The food categories chosen were based on earlier studies indicating that they were significant sources of trans fatty acids and the individual samples were chosen based on market share data. The trans fatty acid and saturated fatty acid contents of the samples were determined by gas chromatography and the laboratory results were compared to the values reported in the Nutrition Facts tables. CONCLUSIONS: Statistical analysis indicated no significant difference between laboratory and food label values for cookies, crackers, granola bars, breakfast bars and frozen foods for trans fat or saturated fat. The results demonstrate that Canadians can rely on food labels for making informed dietary choices with respect to trans fat and saturated fat content.

Trans fatty acids: current contents in Canadian foods and estimated intake levels for the Canadian population.

Research conducted in the mid-1990s indicated that the levels of trans fats in Canadian diets were among the highest in the world. The consumption of trans fats raises blood levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, while reducing levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol. In June 2007, Health Canada called on the food industry to voluntarily reduce levels of trans fats in vegetable oils and soft (tub)-margarines to < 2% of total fat, and in all other foods, to < 5%. Industry must show satisfactory progress by June 2009, or Health Canada might have to introduce legislation to ensure that recommended limits are achieved. Since 2005, Health Canada has been performing a national assessment of prepackaged and restaurant foods that likely contain trans fats. From 2005 to 2009, 1120 samples were analyzed, of which 852 or approximately 76% met the recommended trans fat limits. As a result of reformulation, most of the products had decreased trans + saturated fat content. The estimated average intake of trans fatty acids (TFA) in Canada significantly dropped from the high value of 8.4 g/day in the mid-1990s to 3.4 g/day (or 1.4% food energy) in 2008. However, this TFA intake of 1.4% of energy is still above the World Health Organization recommended limit of TFA intake of < 1% of energy, which suggests that the Canadian food industry needs to put more effort into reducing the TFA content in its products, especially in tub-margarines, donuts, and bakery products.