Denmark leads way in cutting trans fats

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Two years ago, Denmark declared war on artery-clogging oils, making it illegal for any food to have more than 2 percent trans fats. Offenders now face hefty fines — or even prison terms.

The result? Today, hardly anyone notices the difference. The French fries are still crispy. The pastries are still scrumptious. And the fried chicken is still tasty.

Denmark's experience offers a hopeful example for places like Canada and New York City, which are considering limits on the artery-clogging fats.

It is still too early to tell if removing trans fats from food in Denmark has improved the country's health.

Trans-fatty acids

Trans fats are typically added as partially hydrogenated oils to processed foods such as cookies, margarine and fast food. They are cheaper to produce than healthier oils — such as canola, corn or olive oil — and give foods a longer shelf life but they lower good cholesterol while raising bad cholesterol and raise the risk of heart disease.

The Danish health ministry reports that cardiovascular disease has fallen by 20 percent in the last five years. However, other countries have reported similar drops in heart disease where smoking has been restricted and where industry has made efforts to improve some foods. In countries that are making no effort to regulate the amount of trans fat in food, such as Hungary and Bulgaria, heart-disease rates have continued to climb.

Denmark is the only country to have so sharply limited trans fats, passing the law in 2003 that came into effect in 2004.

For Danes like Troels Nyborg Andersen, the government's decision means he feels less guilty about his fast-food habit.

"I know trans fats are bad, but you don't think about that when you're hungry," said the 27-year-old Copenhagen native, eating a hamburger. "It's good that the Danish government got rid of trans fats so that I don't have to worry about it."

That was the rationale that motivated the trans-fat ban.

"We wanted to protect people so that they would not even have to know what trans fat was," said Dr. Steen Stender, one of the leading Danish experts who lobbied for the anti-trans fat law.

Though obesity rates are rising in Denmark, they are far below those of most countries: just 11 percent of the Danish population was obese in 2005, less than half of Britain's obesity rate, estimated at 23 percent.

Preserving the delicacy of traditional Danish pastries was a major concern at Copenhagen's famed La Glace cafe, renowned for its pastries and cakes. When the trans-fat law kicked in, its bakers began experimenting.

"There was a bit of a crisis," admitted Marianne Stagetorn Kolos, La Glace's owner.

The first attempts were disastrous. The trans-fat-free margarines melted too soon, destroying the flakiness of the 81-layered pastries.

"Everything was flat," Stagetorn said. Luckily, the problem was solved by switching margarine suppliers.

Customers like Anne Petersen haven't noticed.

The pastries "taste just as good as they always did," said the 59-year-old sales assistant.