for consumers
Today, health-conscious consumers are more concerned about where and how their food is grown. There have been countless food recalls, and some question the quality of products that are purchased on a regular basis. When the Food and Drug Administration ruled products must list trans fats on labels, people began questioning exactly what trans fats are.
Trans fats occur when oil has been partially hydrogenated. Process foods typically use partially hydrogenated oil so they have a longer shelf life.
Trans fats are believed to increase bad (LDL) cholesterol levels and lower good (HDL) cholesterol levels. Increased levels of bad cholesterol can cause heart disease and other health risks. Soybean oil accounts for about 80% of the edible oil consumed in the U.S.
Currently, there is no recommended allowance for trans fats. Some will say that it's safe to consume a couple grams of trans fats, while others say people shouldn't have any. This uncertainty compounds consumers' fears, and it's the main reason behind the progressive initiative to ban trans fats.
Most people have never heard of soybean oil or seen it on the grocery shelves. In fact, people do not realize that vegetable oil is almost entirely made from soybeans. And currently, almost half of all soybean oil is hydrogenated.
To address the issue of trans fats, the soybean industry has developed a new variety of soybean that does not require hydrogenation, which means it is low-linolenic or trans fat-free.
