Thrifty Foods

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Trans Fats

Trans fat is a type of dietary fat and comes in two forms-naturally-occurring and industrially-produced. Most of the trans fat in our diet is industrially-produced and found hidden in prepared foods made with partially hydrogenated fats and oils including pre-fried foods like chicken nuggets and onion rings, and baked goods like cakes, cookies, muffins, pies, and doughnuts.

Naturally-occurring trans fat is made by bacteria in the stomach of ruminant animals and does not appear to have the same harmful effects as industrially-produced trans fat. For example butter has natural occurring trans fat.

In the February 12, 2008 Speech from the Throne, the British Columbia Government was the first province in Canada to announce its intention to ban trans fat in prepared foods in food service establishments by the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. This Trans Fat Regulation will fall under the new "Public Heath Act, Health Impediment Section" and will use Health Canada's Trans Fat Task Force recommendations. The Trans Fat Taskforce recommended that within the total fat content of certain products, a percentage of trans fats should not be exceeded:

  • For all vegetable oils and soft, spread able (tub-type) margarines sold to consumers or for use as an ingredient in the preparation of foods on site by retailers or food service establishments, the total trans fat content be limited to 2% of total fat content.
  • For all other foods purchased by a retail or food service establishment for sale to consumers or for use as an ingredient in the preparation of foods on site, the total trans fat content be limited to 5% of total fat content.
  • There are some exemptions from the 2% and 5% restrictions:
    • Foods in which the sole source of trans fat is naturally-occurring, such as beef, lamb, venison, goat, bison and dairy products, are exempt from having to meet the 2% and 5% restrictions for industrially-produced trans fat.
    • Pre-packaged foods, that carry a federally-regulated Nutrition Facts table and are sold directly to consumers without alteration, are also exempt from meeting the 2% and 5% restrictions for industrially-produced trans fat.

Beginning September 30th, 2009, all BC food service establishments requiring a food service permit must comply with the trans fat regulation. The regulation applies to ALL foods that are prepared, served or offered for sale in a food service establishment. The two regulatory requirements are as follows:

Restricting industrially produced trans fat is the latest of a number of changes British Columbia has made to support healthy eating. The consumption of industrially produced trans fat increases levels of LDL ('bad') cholesterol and decreases levels of HDL ('good') cholesterol, both of which are risk factors for cardiovascular disease. By offering healthier food items restricted in trans fat, BC food service operators can be proud of their role in actively helping to reduce the risk of heart disease in British Columbians.

Over the last five years Thrifty Foods Bakery departments have endeavored to reduce or eliminate the amount of trans and saturated fat in the products we sell.  In fact, all of our ingredients meet Health Canada's voluntary limits and the British Columbia government's mandated limits.  And since we have been working towards this deadline for so long, you won't even notice a change in the flavour profile of our products because we have actually been using non-hydrogenated ingredients for over four years

Most of the trans fat in found in bakery products come from items that are made with shortening, margarine, or partially-hydrogenated oil. So you will be happy to know that the margarine and shortening we use in our in-store bakeries are non-hydrogenated, and our canola vegetable oil does not contain any genetically modified organisms.

Any claim made with respect to trans fat must meet specific standards. Therefore we cannot just label a product "Trans Fat Free" because we are using non-hydrogenated shortening or margarines. In fact sometimes when you use non-hydrogenated oils the saturated levels increase with the removal of the trans fats.

To meet the labeling standard to call a product "trans fat free" in Canada, the item must display a Nutrition Facts Table, and the product must be less than 0.2 grams of trans fatty acids, and less than 2 grams of saturated fats specified by regulation for that nutrient and also in the serving size stated.

Currently our Bakery department has tested (in an independent lab) and confirmed that many of our recipes are trans fat free, including the ever popular Sensations by Compliments Breads. Please refer to the Nutrition Facts Table displayed on the package for reference.

If you want to learn more about BC's trans fat regulation, you can visit the trans fat website (http://restricttransfat.ca)