The Key Nutrients

Fat

Your fat intake over the course of a day should be between 20 to 35 per cent of your total daily calories.

Some fat is necessary in a balanced diet. Fat carries fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K which are needed in the body for various functions. It’s also a source of energy for the body and, together with carbohydrate, can be important in fuelling physical activity.

There are two main types of fat: saturated and unsaturated (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated) fats.

Saturated fats such as those from animal sources including butter and cheese, and the white fat you can see on red meat for example, should account for less than 10 per cent of your total fat intake. The rest should be made up of unsaturated fats or oils such as sunflower oil, and monounsaturated fats in particular like olive oil, as these types of fats are better for your heart.

Trans Fatty Acids & Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils

Trans Fatty Acids (TFAs) occur naturally in a number of foods, particularly dairy products and meats. For example butter contains 5% TFAs. It is generally accepted that TFAs have an adverse effect on health and we should reduce our consumption of them.

Unfortunately there is a great deal of confusion about TFAs in processed food products. For instance many people think that TFAs and Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (HVOs) – or hydrogenated fats - are one and the same thing which they are not. Fully hydrogenated vegetable oil does not contain TFAs. However, highly variable levels of TFAs (0 - 50%) may be present in partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.

Trans Fatty Acids and Your Health

Milk fat which is an ingredient of chocolate contains TFAs. Accordingly, although it is generally accepted that TFAs have an adverse effect on health and we should reduce our consumption of them, it is impossible to completely eliminate them from our diet. The Food Standards Agency recommends that TFAs should comprise of no more than two per cent of dietary energy.

Product Labelling

Like any ingredient, HVOs must be indicated in the ingredients list shown on the label of a food product. You may therefore find HVOs or hydrogenated fat listed as an ingredient of a food product. This does not necessarily mean it contains TFAs. Whether the product contains TFAs will depend on whether or not the HVO in the product is partially hydrogenated.

Currently manufacturers are not legally required to indicate the presence of TFAs on food labels in the UK, unless they are making a claim about the TFAs such as “low in trans fatty acids” or "reduced trans fatty acids".

Mars Products

Since 2002, Mars has been at the forefront of the food industry in reducing TFAs in its products. We reviewed our snack portfolio, focusing on products with levels of TFA greater than 1%, and implemented a TFA reduction programme. This has resulted in an average reduction of 72% in TFA levels. More than 99% of our snack food sales now contain less than 0.5% TFA, with the remainder containing less than 1%. For further information on the levels of TFAs in your favourite chocolate and ice cream manufactured by ourselves, please click here and search the brand you are interested in.