Obama Administration Gets Rid Of Trans Fats

The FDA issued a final decision on trans fats Tuesday that will phase out partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), the main source of trans fat.  The food industry has three years to do so, according to Politico.

Partially hydrogenated oils are are still used in a wide variety of products from microwave popcorn to cake frosting, writes Politico.

The government’s goal is to prevent cardiovascular disease, writes Politico.  Advocates are cheering the move as a historic win for public health.

Class-action attorneys may use the ruling even before it takes effect to file lawsuits against deep-pocketed food companies that have continued to use trans fat, writes Politico.

Politico states that “the rest of the industry has reduced its use of trans fat by some 85 percent.”

According to Politico, food industry lawyers are poring over the document to see if FDA said anything that could help shield them from litigation.

The FDA on Tuesday ruled that trans fat is not “generally recognized as safe” for use in human food, according to CNN.

The department gave food manufacturers three years to remove the partially hydrogenated oils, or PHOs, from their products.

Companies can petition the FDA for a special permit to use it, but no PHOs can be added to human food unless otherwise approved by the FDA, claims CNN.

Eating a diet rich in trans fat is linked to higher body weight, heart disease and memory loss, states CNN.

It has been shown to raise the “bad,” or LDL, cholesterol in the blood, which can lead to cardiovascular disease — the leading cause of death in the United States.

(Updated article)

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/obama-bans-trans-fat-119050.html#ixzz3dLgfiWKx

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/16/health/fda-trans-fat/

Delaware Senate Votes To Get Rid Of The Death Penalty

For the second time in three years, lawmakers in the Deleware state Senate narrowly voted to repeal the death penalty in the state, according to USA Today.

The Senate voted 11-9 on Thursday in favor of repeal.

This sets up a battle in the Delaware House of Representatives, where police groups and the chamber’s top Democrat will oppose the effort.  The House of Representatives in Delaware has 41 members.

The legislation, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Karen Peterson, includes an exemption for the 15 inmates currently sitting on Delaware’s death row.  They would still face execution by lethal injection, claims USA Today.

The measure has support from clergy.  It also has support from a political effort partly organized by a man named Erik Raser Schramm, a Democratic operative and former top aide to Delaware House Democrats.

Groups supporting State Senator Peterson’s bill includes the NAACP, the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware, the Delaware Center for Justice, and the League of Women Voters.

Governor Jack Markell has yet to speak about it.  A spokeswoman for Markell said in an e-mail Thursday that the governor would not take a position.

State Senator Peterson said she wished Markell would take a stand on the matter like former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley did when that state repealed its death penalty in 2013.

O’Malley is a Democrat looking into running in the presidential primaries against Hillary Clinton.

“We tried to encourage our governor to do the same … but he’s not comfortable with that for some apparent reason,” the state senator said.

(Updated post)