US moves to ban trans fats in food.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24856146

"US food safety officials have taken steps to ban the use of trans fats, saying they are a threat to health.

Trans fats, also known as partially hydrogenated oils, are no longer "generally recognised as safe", said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The regulator said a ban could prevent 7,000 deaths and 20,000 heart attacks in the US each year.

The FDA is opening a 60-day consultation period on the plan, which would gradually phase out trans fats.

"While consumption of potentially harmful artificial trans fat has declined over the last two decades in the United States, current intake remains a significant public health concern," FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said in a statement.

"The FDA's action today is an important step toward protecting more Americans from the potential dangers of trans fat."

The ruling does not affect foods with naturally occurring trans fats, which are present in small amounts in certain meat and dairy products.

Artificial trans fats are used both in processed food and in restaurants as a way to improve the shelf life or flavour of foods. The fats are created when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil, making it a solid. Nutritionists have long criticised their use, saying they contribute to heart disease more than saturated fat. Some companies have already phased out trans fats, prompted by new nutritional labels introduced in 2006 requiring it to be listed on food packaging. New York City and some other local governments have also banned it. But trans fats persist primarily in processed foods - including some microwave popcorns and frozen pizzas - and in restaurants that use the oils for frying."

Nowdays trans fats are usually used to improve the aliment's life, to make the shelf life and the flavour foods longer Manufactured foods like frozen pizzas or frying oils, contain this trans fats.
Safety officials of the USA advertise that this kind of fats are worse than the saturated fats.

They say that if this trans fats were banned they could prevent 7.000 death and 20.000 heart attacks in US each year and that's an amazing amount, deathts are nearly like my town's population. These heart attacks are expensive to heal.

FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is opening a 60 days consultation to ban this trans fats gradually. Probably there are people who is against this ban but on the other hand I suppose that there is some people who agree with this to protect their families against obesity or other isues.

Probably there are lots of intereses comming from the food industry (restaurants, supermarkets...),  but it would be important to take care of  the population  health.

Ban: http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=ban
Phase out: http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=phase%20out 
Shelf life: http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=shelf%20life