“I don’t know how many lives will be saved, but probably in the thousands per year when all the companies are in compliance,” said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
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About 70 percent of palm oil is produced in Malaysia and some also comes from Indonesia and South America, Tiger Tangavelu, technical director at Global Agri-Trade Corp., said in an e-mail. The U.S. market size for palm oil is 2.6 billion pounds (1.2 billion kilograms) annually, he said. He expects that to increase by half a billion pounds a year once trans fats are eliminated.
This is scary
Modified soybean oil is also an option. Monsanto Co. is testing an oil called Vistive Gold made from soybeans that have been genetically modified to make it heart-healthier and good for frying without the need to hydrogenate it, said Sarah Vacek, soybean quality traits manager at Monsanto. Restaurants will be Vistive Gold’s main target.
“It’s been in the works for over a decade,” Vacek said. “We are pre-commercial right now. We are anticipating a full commercial launch in 2016.”
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New York City was the first to ban trans fat from restaurants, followed by California, Philadelphia and Seattle, said Jacobson, with the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Source: news.ycombinator.com