Girl Scouts Fib About Fatty Cookies

The Girl Scouts gave some of their cookies a merit badge they really don’t deserve.

Boxes of Samoas, Tagalongs and Thin Mints, the most popular cookies in the whole troop, have worn “0 grams trans fat” badges since 2007, but partially hydrogenated oils are their second and third largest ingredients.

But don’t blame the GSA, blame the FDA. Food and Drug Administration rules allow products to be marked “0 grams trans fat” if the amount per serving is below 0.5 grams. So if you make food out of artery-clogging trans fatty acids, just make the servings smaller and you can label those packages “0 grams trans fat,” too.

 More:

“The Girl Scout Cookie lie: No trans-fats,” The Week.

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Tags: cookies, FDA, food, Food and Drug Administration, Girl Scout Cookies, Girl Scouts, nutrition, partially hydrogenated oils, Samoas, Tagalongs, Thin Mints, trans fats, trans fatty acids, transfats