How can a food label state “NO TRANS FATS” when the ingredient list contains partially hydrogenated soybean oil?
FDA regulations specify that rounding should be used on nutrition facts labels. When a serving contains less than 0.5 gram of something, then the label reads zero. That means that each serving of the margarine in question has less than 0.5 gram of saturated fat. Assuming you eat only one serving, the amount is considered negligible. If you eat several servings, that might be different. Clearly there is at least some trans fat in the product, given that partially hydrogenated oil is on the ingredient list, but it could be only a trace — or it could be almost half a gram. If the serving size is one teaspoon and you eat a tablespoon, then you could be getting just a little more than a trace of trans fat or you could be getting almost 1.5 grams of trans fat. Although the label may seem deceitful — and some companies may engineer their products to look good on the label — there are real-life considerations that make rounding a reasonable thing. Food, which comes from living organisms, va
