Agency wants food guidelines to identify good, bad fats

05/29/2003

Associated Press

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WASHINGTON – New government dietary guidelines are in the works that may suggest people eat more fish and other foods with healthy fats but cut back on foods with harmful fats such as potato chips.

The White House Office of Management and Budget wrote the Agriculture and Health and Human Services departments Wednesday urging them to revise guidelines to distinguish between harmful trans fats that increase the risk of heart disease and beneficial fats such as omega-3 that can lower the risk.

"The current dietary guidelines target only the reduction of saturated fat and cholesterol, with only a brief reference to the risks from trans fatty acids and benefits of omega-3 fatty acids," said John Graham, the Bush administration's chief regulatory watchdog as head of OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

The recommendation comes as officials at Health and Human Services and the Agriculture Department prepare to start writing new food nutrition guidelines to be issued in 2005.

The guidelines, revised every five years, are the basis for food labeling and a reference for meal planning at schools in the federal lunch program, which feeds more than 28 million low-income children every school day.

The Food Guide Pyramid, on the other hand, has not been updated since 1992. Mr. Graham called for updating it, too. John Webster, spokesman for the Agriculture Department, said officials already are working on changing the well-known pyramid, which also will be released in 2005.

Alisa Harrison, spokeswoman for the Agriculture Department, said it was too soon to tell whether OMB's recommendations will be included in the revisions. The government is selecting experts for an advisory panel to help write the changes.

Health and Human Services already has heard many suggestions for the guidelines, but department spokesman Bill Pierce said OMB's recommendations would be considered along with all the other suggestions the panel receives.

Concerns about trans fatty acids have increased in recent years as more studies show that they increase the risk of heart disease by lowering the level of good cholesterol, or HDL, and raise the level of bad cholesterol, LDL.

Trans fats form when vegetable oil is heated in the presence of hydrogen. Hydrogenation hardens them at room temperature and makes products such as grease and shortening – ingredients for frying and baking.

Unlike other fats, trans fat is a hidden fat because it is not labeled on food packages. That may be changed soon by the Food and Drug Administration.