WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration has denied a petition submitted by the Grocery Manufacturers Association requesting that food additive regulations be amended to include the use of partially hydrogenated oils (phos) in certain food applications. The agency, however, has extended certain compliance deadlines associated with the regulation to allow those companies that make products under the specified applications more time to comply.
The new compliance date for the specified applications is June 18, 2019. The applications that fall under the new compliance date include:
l Pho, or a blend of phos, used as a solvent or carrier, or a component thereof, for flavoring agents, flavor enhancers, and coloring agents intended for food use, provided the phos in the solvent or carrier contribute no more than 150 parts per million (p.p.m.) industrially produced trans fatty acids (I.P.-T.F.A.) to the finished food as consumed;
l Pho, or a blend of phos, used as a processing aid, or a component thereof, provided the phos in the processing aid contribute no more than 50 p.p.m. I.P.-T.F.A. to the finished food as consumed;
lAnd pho, or a blend of phos, used as a pan release agent for baked foods at levels up to 0.2 grams/100 grams in pan release spray oils, provided the pho contributes no more than 0.14 grams I.P.-T.F.A./100 g spray oil.
Manufacturers of products that do not fall under the specified applications have until June 18 to comply.
“We have denied a trade group’s petition to maintain these uses, and manufacturers will be legally required to remove even these small amounts from food,” said Scott Gottlieb, Ph.D., commissioner of the F.D.A. “However, in order to provide food makers time to reformulate their products (and adjust their manufacturing processes), we’re giving manufacturers extra time to comply for the uses of phos requested in the petition.
“The industry petition also gave the F.D.A. the opportunity to further review whether certain uses of phos can be safe in foods, and we concluded that the petition doesn’t contain sufficient evidence that the requested uses are safe. Consuming phos increases the risk of heart disease, which is a leading cause of death for American men and women. Removing artificial trans fats from the marketplace is a significant step forward for public health.”