(Curly Sue) wrote in message >...
> On Tue, 02 Mar 2004 21:53:04 -0600, zxcvbob >
> wrote:
> <snip>
> >Trans- fats are saturated. That's why they are solid. Roughly half of
> >hydrogenated fat is trans- and the other half is... ummm... "cis-", I
> >think. Peanut oil contains a little bit of natural saturated fat, all of
> >which will be "cis-".
>
> trans and cis are both unsaturated. Those terms refer to the
> configuration around a carbon to carbon double bond. If the H's (or
> functional groups) are on the same side, it's cis. If they are on the
> opposite side, it's trans. If the fatty acid is saturated, you can't
> have cis or trans. Hydrogenation converts many unsaturated bonds to
> saturated configuration and some unsaturated bonds to to the cis
> configuration.
>
> Here's a nice explanation, with drawings.
>
> http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembo...ogenation.html
>
> >So, Skippy probably has about 1 gram of hydrogenated oil per "serving",
> >half of that is "trans-", or .5 grams. They adjust the serving size down
> >small enough to stay below the .5 gram limit.
>
> Put away your calculators folks. Someone did the study!
>
> from http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2001/010612.htm
> ****************
> "Recurring rumors that commercial peanut butters contain trans
> fats--which appear to increase risk of cardiovascular disease--have no
> basis in fact, according to an Agricultural Research Service study.
>
> The rumors no doubt started because small amounts of hydrogenated
> vegetable oils are added to commercial peanut butters--at 1 to 2
> percent of total weight--to prevent the peanut oil from separating
> out. And the hydrogenation process can generate the formation of trans
> fatty acids in oils, according to Timothy H. Sanders, who leads
> research at ARS? Market Quality and Handling Research Unit at Raleigh,
> N.C.
>
> To see if the rumors had any validity, Sanders prepared 11 brands of
> peanut butter, including major store brands and natural brands, for
> analysis by a commercial laboratory. He also sent paste freshly
> prepared from roasted peanuts for comparison. The laboratory found no
> detectable trans fats in any of the samples, with a detection limit of
> 0.01 percent of the sample weight."
> **************************
>
>
> Sue(tm)
> Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!


Okay, I read the rest of the thread. The above study answers my
question although I really couldn't follow the diagram and all the
technical talk.

..01 percent of the sample weight of trans fat means I did overreact
when I calculated 13 grams of not-saturated fat, read the label, found
"Hydrogenated vegetable oil", and concluded that it was 13 grams of
trans fats per serving.

I made a $3 mistake. Oh well.

I'm glad we have such demon researchers on this NG.

I'm still buying my neighborhood grind PB 'cause the kids don't know
any different and it doesn't have added "dextrose".

Thanks again to Sue and Peggy. I'm relieved to know commercial PB
isn't as horrible as I'd thought.

Leila