The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is moving to ban all trans fats in the United States, citing the fats as being “a public health concern”. While the U.S. is taking steps to formally remove the artificial fats from their market, Canada still stands steps behind their southern counterpart as they have yet to meet their own 2007 goal of eliminating trans fats from products.

Trans fats can be naturally found in some meats, but the kind we’re talking about is the artificial kind, which are made by making oil into a solid through the addition of hydrogen (hence why they are also known as partially hydrogenated oils). Trans fats are often used to create a softer texture in manufactured goods, like baked treats, breads, deep fried foods, and margarine. They also extend the shelf life of food.

The problem, among many, with trans fats is that they raise your bad cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein) while lowering your good cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein). These artery cloggers have been linked to a greater risk of stroke, coronary heart disease and sudden cardiac death.

And so, with the U.S. finally making steps to curb the use of these proven heart stoppers, where is Canada’s plan?

To understand Canada’s history with trans fats, you have to go back to 2007, when Health Canada asked the food industry to eliminate or at least reduce the use of trans fats in their products. They were given two years to meet this deadline, and if they did not meet it voluntarily, then the government said they would step in to make regulations that would force them to alter their trans fats usage.

In 2009, even with the voluntary bans in place, trans fats were still found to be in 25 percent of the food consumed by Canadians. And since then very little has been done (officially) to stop trans fats from being put into our food. What’s more harmful is that under food labelling regulations in Canada, if the food product you are consuming has less than half a gram of trans fat per serving, then producers are allowed to list the amount of trans fats as being ‘0’.

This may not seem like a lot, but trans fats are one of those unsaturated fats that any amount is considered bad for you, and those hidden amounts can really add up.

That being said, Health Canada is attempting to follow the steps of our neighbours to the south. On Friday, Heath Canada presented a “Notice of Proposal” which would prohibit the use of industrially produced partially hydrogenated oils. If passed, this shift would be the first major step in completely eliminating trans fats from the Canadian diet.

*Note: In B.C., they decided to take matters into their own hands and removed all artificial trans fats in foods prepared and served in the province in 2009. This included restaurants, schools and health care services.

Until then though, here’s a helpful little list of some of the biggest offenders for containing trans fats that you should be on the look out for (though you should always be checking the nutrition label to be sure your specific brand does or doesn’t have trans fats in it):

• margarine (stick or tub)
• shortening
• microwave popcorn
• deep fried fast foods
• doughnuts
• cream filled candies
• frozen pizza
• pie crust
• pre-packaged frostings and baked goods
• pancake and waffle mixes
• non-dairy creamers
• frozen/pre-packaged biscuits
• frozen treats/creamy drinks (e.g. Dairy Queen blizzards)

This just a cautionary list of places where you could find trans fats. This is by no means an exhaustive list and it also doesn’t mean that because margarine is listed as one of the usual offenders for using trans fats that your specific brand of margarine also has trans fats in it (e.g. Smart Balance is a popular margarine that’s trans fat free).

Happy and healthy shopping!