Trans fats also known as trans fatty acids are ne naturally found in dairy and meat products but also generated by industrial processes to produce
hard fats from vegetable oils.
In modern commercial mince pies, animal suet is usually replaced by
hard fats prepared by hardening vegetable oils with hydrogen.
The reformulation involves physical blending oils to soften
hard fats to create the proper consistency, or enzymatic interesterification where canola oil provides the softening and plasticizing components to the harder palm or palm kernel oil, as in the case of Canadian margarines.
According to Kerry Americas, Beloit, WI, these include: blending fully hydrogenated
hard fats having no trans fat with unhydrogenated oils; using inter-esterification (molecular rearrangement) of un-hydrogenated oils with high saturated fat base oils; using more stable vegetable oils derived through traditional plant breeding or biotechnological methods; using gelling or texture building agents; increasing the use of antioxidants to increase oil stability; blending more stable vegetable oils with partially hydrogenated fats to lower trans fat while keeping saturates low; or a combination of some or all of these approaches.
Finally, hydrogenated vegetable oils, which have been artificially hardened for margarines and shortenings, don't raise cholesterol as much as naturally
hard fats. But hydrogenation offsets some of the benefits of using unsaturated vegetable oils.
Too much meat,
hard fats and sugars and the chemicals and pesticides in every-day food are also a strain on the liver.
Since our recipes are cooked from scratch, you'll be reducing your intake of trans fats (man-made
hard fats) found in processed foods.