Trans Fats

The article characterizes hydrogenation as unnatural because it has no biological analog. Fully hydrogenated oils are saturated industrial fats whose lack of trans fats does not rehabilitate their health profile. No safety studies were conducted on trans fats at the time of their introduction into the food supply. Apeel's ingredients lack independent long-term safety data, placing them in a similar uncertain position to trans fats before they were banned. Crisco was invented by repurposing cottonseed oil previously used in candles and lanterns as a cooking fat substitute for butter and lard. It took over 100 years for trans fats to be banned or meaningfully reduced in the food supply. Trans fats are described as harmful synthetic lipids that were historically conflated with natural dietary fats. Artificial trans fats were largely removed from the American food supply around 2018 after an FDA ban. Trans fats were GRAS-certified for decades before the FDA reversed that designation, and Apeel's ingredients were brought to market through the same self-certification channels. Hydrogenation is used to convert naturally liquid vegetable oils into solid margarine. Hydrogenation requires a…