Crisco Goes (Almost) Trans-Fat-Free
Associated Press
January 25, 2007; Page D6
After 95 years in America's pantries, Crisco is getting a new formula that nearly eliminates artery-clogging trans fats.
J.M. Smucker Co., the largest U.S. producer of jams and jellies, has reformulated its line of Crisco shortening products to contain zero grams of trans fats per serving.
Crisco still has a small amount of artificial trans fat, but the Food and Drug Administration allows any product with less than 0.5 grams per serving to list zero grams trans fat in its nutrition facts. Smucker spokeswoman Maribeth Badertscher said the new Crisco formula is well below the FDA guidelines.
"The performance is the same for those tried-and-true family recipes that people have come to rely on Crisco for," Ms. Badertscher said.
Trans fats, which are used to increase the shelf life and flavor of foods, are listed on food labels as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Doctors say they can raise bad cholesterol and lower healthy cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease.
Smucker's move comes as an increasing number of food makers have been lowering or eliminating trans fats. Others include Campbell Soup Co., which is working to revise some varieties of Chunky soup and SpaghettiOs with meatballs, and Kraft Foods Inc., which has removed trans fats from Triscuits and Oreos.
In December, New York became the first U.S. city to ban trans fats at restaurants and fast-food shops. A bill introduced last month in the Philadelphia City Council would ban restaurants and food-service establishments from using artificial trans fats; Cleveland's council also has talked about a ban.
Introduced in 1911, Crisco was the first shortening made entirely of vegetable oil, and it made its reputation on having a lower level of saturated fat than that in butter, coconut oil, palm oil or lard, Ms. Badertscher said.
The company introduced a zero-gram trans-fat formula in 2004, sold in a green can. That formula, which used sunflower oil and was more expensive, has been discontinued.
The new formula uses less partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oils and more fully hydrogenated cottonseed oil, which contains no trans fat. Hydrogenated oils are what gives shortening its semisolid consistency, the company says. The company placed an emphasis on reducing the trans fat content without increasing saturated fat, Ms. Badertscher said.
That is a positive, said Lisa Cimperman, clinical dietitian at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland. "It is an improvement from the standpoint that we know reducing the amount of trans fat you take in can reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease," Ms. Cimperman said.
She warned, however, not to believe that anything with zero grams of trans fat should be consumed in large quantities. "What do you use Crisco for -- to bake cookies?" she said, adding that good nutrition involves more than cutting trans fats.
Smucker, based in Orrville, Ohio, also makes and sells peanut butter, oils, ice cream toppings and other foods and drinks in North America. Its brands includes Smucker's, Jif, Crisco, Pillsbury, R.W. Knudsen Family, Hungry Jack and Martha White in the U.S. and Robin Hood and Bick's in Canada.
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