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Once-Touted Fat Now Demonized

By Kim Severson and Melanie Warner

New York Times

An artificial fat once embraced as a cheap and seemingly healthy alternative to saturated fats like butter or tropical oils, partially hydrogenated oil has been the food industry’s favorite cooking medium for decades. It makes french fries crisp and sweets creamy, and keeps packaged pastries fresh for months.

But scientists contend that trans fat, a component of the oil, is more dangerous than the fat it replaced. Studies show trans ...

Friday, August 3, 2012 11:19 AM

By Nick Tate

A new study is raising concern about chronic exposure to an artificial butter flavoring ingredient used in some margarines, microwave popcorn, snack foods, candy, baked goods, pet foods and other products.

The study, published in the American Chemical Society journal Chemical Research in Toxicology, has found the ingredient – diacetyl (DA) – intensifies the damaging effects of an abnormal brain protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Past studies have linked DA to respiratory and other problems ...