View Single Post
  #47 (permalink)   Report Post  
Peggy Sullivan
 
Posts: n/a
Default Good Peanut Butter vs. Bad Peanut Butter

Leila A. wrote:

> The other week hubby bought peanut butter at the Stupidmarket, rather
> than at the natural foods place I go to that grinds it fresh. After
> the kids had been eating it for a day or two I thought to check the
> label. The rule of thumb is, subtract Saturated Fats from Total Fats
> on the label to get the trans fats (although wouldn't the
> polyunsaturated fats that are fine also be in there?). The peanut
> butter said something like 16 g per serving fat, 3 g. saturated fat,
> so that left 13 grams PER SERVING of unsaturated fats, many of which
> are hydrogenated.
>
> I threw the jar out.
>

[snip]
>
> Leila
> (ducking for cover)


I'm wondering about your calculations. I don't think that
total fats - saturated fats is equal to trans fats. I think the
peanut oil in the peanuts is unsaturated and makes up almost all
of the total fat - saturated fat number you computed.

The Skippy web page: http://www.peanutbutter.com/faq.asp
referenced previously in this thread states:

"Does Skippy peanut butter contain trans fats?
By U.S. FDA definition, Skippy peanut butter is a trans-fat free food.

Most commercial peanut butters contain small amounts (typically less than
2%) of a partially hydrogenated fat, which prevents oil separation by
helping the peanut butter "set up" a fat structure. This partially
hydrogenated fat is almost totally saturated and contains only an
insignificant trace amount of trans fats. "

I looked for the US FDA definition of trans-fat free and found a page
about the proposed trans fat labeling rules:
http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qatrans2.html
which states in part:

"Q: Is it possible for a food product to list the amount of trans fat as
0 g on the Nutrition Facts panel if the ingredient list indicates that
it contains "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil?

A: Yes. Food manufacturers are allowed to list amounts of trans fat with
less than 0.5 gram (1/2 g) as 0 (zero) on the Nutrition Facts panel. As
a result, consumers may see a few products that list 0 gram trans fat on
the label, while the ingredient list will have "shortening," "partially
hydrogenated vegetable oil," or "hydrogenated vegetable oil" on it. This
means the food contains very small amounts (less than 0.5 g) of trans fat
per serving."

So my guess is that Skippy has less than 1/2 g of trans fat per serving.
I can't believe other big brand name peanut butters are that different.

It might be good to avoid even small amounts, but I think that your idea
that each serving of your peanut butter contained many grams of trans fats
is way off. I think commercial cookies, crackers, donuts, fried foods and
margarines are all much more significant sources of trans fats than peanut
butter in the average american diet.

Peggy