The US Food and Drug Administration has lifted its ruling that Procter & Gamble’s zero-calorie fat replacer olestra has to be labelled with a health warning.
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In 1996, when the sale of the fat replacer was approved, the FDA insisted on products containing olestra being labelled to warn consumers that they might cause cramps and diarrhoea. Olestra is made of sugar and soybeans, and is popular with manufacturers of ‘healthier’ snack foods as it tastes like fat but passes through the body undigested.
The FDA received 20,000 reports of gastrointestinal complaints among olestra consumers. However, it has now decided that, if olestra does cause the odd stomach upset, its effect is both mild and rare. The decision was based on the findings of a study that monitored 3000 consumers over a six-week period after eating crisps containing olestra or crisps that they THOUGHT contained olestra but in fact did not. There was shown to be negligible difference in the bowel movements of the two groups.
Because olestra is not absorbed, it inhibits the digestion of certain vitamins that tend to adhere to fat. As a result, foods that contain olestra have to contain added vitamins A, D, E and K. This requirement will remain in place, reported Associated Press.
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