Excess trans fat found in 16 pct of foreign snacks

SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Yonhap) -- Nearly one out of every five imported snacks sold in Seoul contains excessive amount of trans fat, a major cause of heart disease, according to a food health report released Monday.

Trans fat, commonly associated with fast foods, cakes and biscuits, is considered
harmful to human health and is believed to increase the risk of heart disease.
A nutritional survey by the Research Institute of Public Health and Environment
on 118 foreign-made snacks showed that in 16 percent of the products, trans fat
contents were above 5 percent of the total fat, such as saturated fat.
The Korea Food and Drug Administration, the nation's food watchdog, recommends a
trans fat level of below 5 percent against total fat in snack products.
The institute, an agency run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, however, did
not disclose the names of the brands with higher trans fat contents. The survey
was conducted between June and August.
Some of the tested products contained as much as 32 percent of trans fat,
according to the institute. None of the 41 South Korean brands surveyed were
found with potentially dangerous levels of trans fat, the institute said.
odissy@yna.co.kr