[Trans Fats]
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Starbucks Corp. is cutting trans fats from the doughnuts, muffins and other treats in half of its U.S. stores, and plans to eventually drop the artery-clogging fats from company-operated coffeehouses across the country.
The world’s largest specialty coffee retailer has been working to eliminate trans fats from its food menu for about two years, spokesman Brandon Borrman said Tuesday.
“This is just something we have been working on, and our focus has always been on providing our customers with healthy and nutritious food options,” Borrman said.
Trans fats, listed on food labels as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, are believed to be harmful because they wreak havoc on cholesterol levels.
Trans fatty acids (commonly termed trans fats) are a type of unsaturated fat (and may be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated).
Trans fats occur naturally, in small quantities, in meat and dairy products from ruminants. Most trans fats consumed today, however, are industrially created as a side effect of partial hydrogenation of plant oils — a process developed in the early 1900s and first commercialized as Crisco in 1911. Partial hydrogenation changes a fat's molecular structure (raising its melting point and reducing rancidity) but this process also results in a proportion of the changed fat becoming trans fat.
Unlike other fats, trans fats are neither required nor beneficial for health. Eating trans fat increases the risk of coronary heart disease. For these reasons, health authorities worldwide recommend that consumption of trans fat be reduced to trace amounts. Trans fats from partially hydrogenated oils are generally considered to be more of a health risk than those occurring naturally.
Trans fats are increasingly being linked to chronic health conditions[citation needed], are tightly regulated in a few countries, are mandatory on product labels in many others, and are the central issue in several ongoing lawsuits (particularly against fast food outlets). Many companies are voluntarily removing trans fats from their products, or establishing trans-free product lines.
Chemically, trans fats are made of the same building blocks as non-trans fats, but have a different shape. In trans fat molecules, the double bonds between carbon atoms (characteristic of all unsaturated fats) are in the trans rather than the cis configuration, resulting in a straighter, rather than a kinked shape. As a result, trans fats are less fluid and have a higher melting point than the corresponding cis fats.
■ Vocabulary
(Make your own sentence using the words below.)
-unsaturated fat: said of an organic chemical compound: containing at least one double or triple bond between its carbon atoms, eg unsaturated fats.
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-monounsaturated: said especially of an oil or fat: containing only one double or triple bond per molecule. Also shortened to mono.
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-polyunsaturated: chem said of a compound, especially a fat or oil: containing two or more double bonds per molecule Compare MONOUNSATURATED
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-ruminants.: an even-toed hoofed mammal, eg a cow, sheep or goat, that chews the cud and has a complex stomach with four chambers
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-hydrogenation: chem any chemical reaction where hydrogen is combined with another substance
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-molecular: chem, physics the smallest particle of an element or compound that can exist independently and participate in a reaction, consisting of two or more atoms bonded together.
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-rancidity: said of butter, oil, etc that is going bad: tasting or smelling rank or sour
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-coronary heart disease: physiol denoting vessels, nerves, etc which encircle a part or organ, especially the arteries which supply blood to the heart muscle
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▶Discussion Questions
- Do you think it is good for Starbucks to change?
- Because of the popularity of Starbucks, will it cause others to follow?
- Is there a problem in Korea with cholesterol?
- Has the problem been worsened by the shift to American style foods?
- What other companies have been working on the trans fat issue?
- What will a high cholesterol level do to your health?
- Do you think it is fair to link trans fat with fast food restaurants?
- Do you read food labels to check the ingredients?
- Are you a regular Starbucks patron?
- If you are, do you get something to eat with your coffee from Starbucks?