The NDP is bent on puttin' out the Ritz. The party's health promotions critic is encouraging Nova Scotians to sign a petition asking Ottawa to ban trans fats - artificial ingredients that have been linked to heart disease. Get rid of potato chips and everything else with trans fats in it, Cape Breton Nova MLA Gordie Gosse said in an interview yesterday. Health Canada introduced new regulations last year requiring food manufacturers to post trans-fat content on pre-packaged food within three years. Winnipeg Centre NDP MP Pat Martin wants to go much further. He is circulating a petition that asks parliament to ban trans fats, which are found in fast food, crackers and even baby food. Trans fatty acids - trans fats - are created by converting liquid oils to semi-solid form by adding hydrogen (if the ingredient list includes the words shortening, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil or hydrogenated vegetable oil, the food contains trans fat.) That increases a food's shelf life, but eating them raises LDL-cholesterol levels, which Health Canada says is a risk factor for coronary heart disease. It is killing Canadians right now as we speak, Gosse said. Gosse said he and most Nova Scotians would miss french fries and other foods laden in hydrogenated oils. But he pointed out that the province has Canada's highest rates for diabetes and heart disease, partly because of trans-fat consumption. He said government should work with industry to phase out the use of trans fats, replacing them with other ingredients. There must be another way of making potato chips, Gosse said. There are other ways, said Irene Healy-Vihant, a dietitian and nutritionist who teaches at Mount Saint Vincent and Dalhousie Universities. She said manufacturers can substitute less harmful fats, such as butter, or better yet, reduce or eliminate fat in packaged foods. Healy-Vihant said the danger with banning trans fats is the industry would substitute tropical oils such as palm kernel oil and coconut oil, ingredients high in saturated fats that many brands eliminated in the 1990s in the face of bad publicity. Some companies are steering away from trans fats, she said. Lays sells baked potato chips and President's Choice has a brand of crackers that has no trans fats. But consumers continue to buy foods with partially hydrogenated oil because they're convenient, filling and tasty. Healy-Vihant said government needs to take an advocacy role, the way it has in the fight against tobacco, an effort that has achieved a sharp decline in smoking rates. What we've done with Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man, can we not do with Ronald McDonald? she said. The petition can be found at www.patmartin.ca.
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