Cutting trans fats has become almost mandatory in college foodservice. The department of Housing and Dining at Colorado State University, in Fort Collins, Colo., talks about the importance of reading food labels during the war on trans fats.
Colorado State University is among the many institutions cutting trans fat from their foodservice operations. CSU’s Housing and Dining Services department offers tips on cutting the artificial fat from our own diets, as well.
“At Dining Services, we can eliminate trans fat in the items we prepare from scratch, but we can’t entirely eliminate trans fat in the dining centers until the various food companies that we buy from eliminate trans fat from their products.
The best way to reduce trans fat in your diet is to read labels. If the ingredients list partially hydrogenated oils, trans fat is present. A federal law passed in 2006 requires all packaged foods to carry trans fat nutritional information, which makes label reading a more effective way to identify and avoid trans fat.
An important point about the trans fat free labels we’re seeing in grocery stores today is that just because an item is trans fat free, it doesn’t mean that it’s good for you. It may still be loaded with saturated fat, sugar and empty calories.
We should avoid both trans fat and saturated fat, and eat fewer processed foods. Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy, lean meats and whole grains in your diet, while limiting processed foods, to create a basic recipe for healthy eating.”