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Wednesday, August 11, 2004

 
MAN WITHOUT A COOKIE The new reduced fat oreo contains fewer trans fats than the classic version. But where does that reduction come from?

The reduced fat cookie contains:

HIGH OLEIC CANOLA OIL, GLYCERIN, PALM OIL, FRUCTOSE, POLYGLYCEROL ESTERS OF FATTY ACIDS, ACETYLATED MONOGLYCERIDES, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, DIACETYL TARTARIC ACID ESTERS OF MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, and NATURAL FLAVOR.
while the regular version has:
PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, and WHEY (FROM MILK).
All the other ingredients are the same.

I have no idea what polyglycerol esters of fatty acids are (a Google search produces this page, among others) but I'm willing to admit that the name gives me pause.

In other sobering trans fat related news, Toni over at the Weston Bakeries consumer relations divisions today confirmed to CONTRAPOSITIVE that there are currently no plans to introduce a trans fat free line of Entenmann's cookies, or to eliminate trans fats from Entenmann's products.

A sad day, indeed.

For more information on the dangers of trans fats and some products that avoid them, check out this site, maintained by Center for Science in the Public Interest.



CONTRAPOSITIVE is edited by Dan Aibel. Dan's a playwright. He lives in New York City.