How margarine is made.

jonnythan

if it's under .5 g, they don't have to label it as partially hydrogenated.

I missed this. This is factually incorrect.

If there is partially hydrogenated oil in the product, in any quantity, it must be listed in ingredients. The "loophole" you're talking about is that if they use a small amount of hydrogenated oil that adds less than 0.5g of trans fat to a serving of the product, they can list "0 g trans fat."

However, again - if hydrogenated oil is one of the ingredients, in any quantity at all, it must appear in the ingredients list.

http://no-trans-fats.tripod.com/
"L48. Is it possible for a food product to list the amount of trans fat as 0 g on the Nutrition Facts label if the ingredient list indicates that it contains “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil?”

Answer: Yes. Food manufacturers are allowed to list amounts of trans fat with less than 0.5 gram (½ g) as 0 (zero) on the Nutrition Facts label. As a result, consumers may see a few products that list 0 gram trans fat on the label, while the ingredient list will have “shortening” or “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” on it. This means the food contains very small amounts (less than 0.5 g) of trans fat per serving."

http://lowfatcooking.about.com/od/faqs/f/hydrogenated.htm
"There are two reasons why foods containing hydrogenated oils may be labeled trans-fat free, or list 0g trans fats on the label. First, items that list partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredients but contain less than 0.5g of trans fats per serving are considered by the government to be trans-fat free. A good example of this would be commercial peanut butter, which contains a tiny amount of partially hydrogenated oil to prevent separation. The problem with this definition, though, is that if you eat more than the stated serving size, those fractions of a gram add up, and you are most certainly consuming trans fats. Second, products that contain fully hydrogenated oils are trans-fat free."

now_or_never13

There is nothing wrong with things like margarine in moderation though. Pick the better options that are made.

While things that are less processed are obviously better, processed isn't always terrible.

Natural doesn't always equal healthy either.

not true. margarine is made with trans fats, which are dangerous even in small amounts. (hydrogenated vegetable oils)

steer clear in every which way you can.

You can buy versions made with non hydrogenated oils.

ShannonS2714

Lastly:

http://www.foodfacts.com/NutritionFacts/Milk-and-milk-products/Country-Crock-Spreadable-Margarine--oz/5929

skim over those ingredients for me. Country Crock does indeed have partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil.

so... you done yet?

That's an old product. Country Crock hasn't made that in quite some time. Here's their current "original" spread:



Note the "no hydrogenated oil" label.

Here is the full ingredient list:

Vegetable Oil Blend (Soybean Oil, Palm Oil, Palm Kernel Oil), Water, Whey (Milk), Salt, Mono and Diglycerides, Soy Lecithin, (Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Disodium EDTA), Citric Acid, Vitamin A Palmitate, Beta Carotene (Color), Natural and Artificial Flavor, Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3).

No hydrogenated oil. No ingredients that contain any trans fat. That means zero trans fat.

Yes, it is solid at room temperature. So is coconut oil. Being solid at room temperature does not mean it has trans fat. I've never heard that myth before, but it's an interesting one.

Nom Nom Nom....I love CC!

ShannonS2714

Right-click, Save As...

jonnythan

Nom Nom Nom....I love CC!

My dad never has butter, but uses the Churn Style CC. Tastes pretty decent, but it's not butter. Mmmm butter.

raylo1313

Margarine may have an edge on Butter as stated in the below article. What you need to watch out for most is the trans fats which come from animals which is where butter comes from. Margarine may contain it too, but may not. Eat either one with some good sense and portions and you should be ok either way. And as previously stated, margarine was not created to fatten turkeys. Read this article to make up your mind which you prefer: http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/butter.asp

CoachReddy

if it's under .5 g, they don't have to label it as partially hydrogenated. they can call it whatever they want. check out their website - nowhere does it say there is NO trans fat! They simply say 0g of trans fat - which is the EXACT loophole we were talking about earlier.

believe what you want dude.

I just bought a bag of frozen broccoli. It says 0g trans fat. That means it might have up to 0.5g of trans fat! It doesn't say NO TRANS FAT!

Sheesh. Believe whatever you want, but don't lie to people. Country Crock, and many other vegetable oil spreads, have zero trans fat. In fact they have less trans fat than butter, because 2-5% of bovine fat is trans fat.

There are reasons to avoid oil spreads such as Country Crock, but trans fat content is not one of them. If you believe it contains trans fat, you are mistaken.

you literally make me want to pull my hair out. you're so absolutely certain but you're wrong and it's really sad. (i know you guys feel the same way about me so we're even)

how bout this, we know the 0g thing is a loophole right? so then why does CC use 0g on their products if it's a known loophole? why don't you email them and ask if there are any trans fats, and see if you get an answer besides "0g" or "zero"

in any case, enjoy your daily "support fake, processed, nutritionally deficient foods" thread. I'm out.

jonnythan

you literally make me want to pull my hair out. you're so absolutely certain but you're wrong and it's really sad. (i know you guys feel the same way about me so we're even)

how bout this, we know the 0g thing is a loophole right? so then why does CC use 0g on their products if it's a known loophole? why don't you email them and ask if there are any trans fats, and see if you get an answer besides "0g" or "zero"

in any case, enjoy your daily "support fake, processed, nutritionally deficient foods" thread. I'm out.

You might be happier if you put me on ignore then. If you could point to the ingredient in Country Crock that the trans fat supposedly comes from, it would be very helpful. As far as I know, vegetable oil, salt, and soy lecithin don't contain any trans fat.

Anyway, again: Country Crock contains zero trans fat and zero hydrogenated oils. No, you can't put 0.4 grams of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil in something and not list it in the ingredients.

WhoTheHellIsBen

If the cat won't eat it, is it good for us?

huh??

No you heard it right. Crazy cat lady logic right here

WinnerVictorious

There is nothing wrong with things like margarine in moderation though. Pick the better options that are made.

While things that are less processed are obviously better, processed isn't always terrible.

Natural doesn't always equal healthy either.

not true. margarine is made with trans fats, which are dangerous even in small amounts. (hydrogenated vegetable oils)

steer clear in every which way you can.

again, you are posting your own phobias as if they are facts. trans fats can still be eaten in small amounts with no firmly established consequences to your long term health. some naturally occurring trans fats are fine for you. the issue is with overconsumption of trans fats from processed foods affecting your cholesterol and possibly causing heart related diseases.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/trans-fat/CL00032

ShannonS2714

Nom Nom Nom....I love CC!

My dad never has butter, but uses the Churn Style CC. Tastes pretty decent, but it's not butter. Mmmm butter.

I've always thought that butter was fairly flavorless....but, it's been a LONG time since I've had any LOL

WinnerVictorious

I had both butter and margarine out on the counter. Stripes (our cat) would lick the butter and leave little tongue marks on it, but NEVER the margarine. We quit eating margarine.. If the cat won't eat it, is it good for us? Besides, same number of calories either way, why not eat what tastes better.

My cat won't eat fruits, veggies, beef, legumes, soy, or any other "human" foods aside from fish and chicken.


Guess all that stuff's bad for me, huh?


Also, butter has dairy in it, which can cause serious illness in cats. Way to kill your cat, bro.

conversely, since a cat will happily eat a mouse, does that mean that mouse casserole is good for humans?

MaraDiaz

I had both butter and margarine out on the counter. Stripes (our cat) would lick the butter and leave little tongue marks on it, but NEVER the margarine. We quit eating margarine.. If the cat won't eat it, is it good for us? Besides, same number of calories either way, why not eat what tastes better.

Normally I prefer butter, but if forced to choose between margarine or something the cat has licked, I'm picking margarine every time! :laugh:

cmcollins001

What the topic says: TOPIC: How margarine is made.

What I thought the topic said: TOPIC: How a migraine is made.


Apparently, I wasn't far off in what I thought it said because I'm starting to get a migraine after reading this whole thread.

ldrosophila

Who won the margarine debate has anyone been crowned the weiner yet?

If you want to go totally unprocessed eat lard. Debate solved. I WIN I WIN!

Haku_Assassin

quirkytizzy

I had both butter and margarine out on the counter. Stripes (our cat) would lick the butter and leave little tongue marks on it, but NEVER the margarine. We quit eating margarine.. If the cat won't eat it, is it good for us? Besides, same number of calories either way, why not eat what tastes better.

Normally I prefer butter, but if forced to choose between margarine or something the cat has licked, I'm picking margarine every time! :laugh:

Am I the only person who doesn't mind if their cat licks their food? Or am I just that poor that I can't afford to throw out what the cat licks? Maybe that.

judydelo1

Maybe this will help to explain why it is so bad for you. This is the hydrogenation process.

http://www.stop-trans-fat.com/how-is-margarine-made.html

jonnythan

Maybe this will help to explain why it is so bad for you. This is the hydrogenation process.

http://www.stop-trans-fat.com/how-is-margarine-made.html

We've been through this. Most oil spreads on the market these days have no hydrogenated oils. The ones that do usually have very very little.

judydelo1

The hydrogenation process starts with non hydrogenated oils. Then it goes through this process so it can stay solid at room temperature.

iAMsmiling

Is this one of those homeopathic things?

I mean, if even the tiniest amount of Trans-Fat exists in a substance, is it because, by the principles of homeopathy, the more you dilute something, the more powerful it becomes?
Because if that's true, it seems that the solution would be to massively increase the amount of trans-fat until it was no longer diluted to the point of being dangerous.

jonnythan

The hydrogenation process starts with non hydrogenated oils. Then it goes through this process so it can stay solid at room temperature.

Yes, but most spreads these days don't have any hydrogenated oils. So it's really kind of irrelevant.

Rosplosion

I always prefer animal products to man-made fakers.

REAL FUR and REAL LEATHER

REAL BUTTER

REAL STEAK

ellenkxxx

There is nothing wrong with things like margarine in moderation though. Pick the better options that are made.

While things that are less processed are obviously better, processed isn't always terrible.

Natural doesn't always equal healthy either.

not true. margarine is made with trans fats, which are dangerous even in small amounts. (hydrogenated vegetable oils)

steer clear in every which way you can.

This is why I don't keep 'vegetable' oils in my house. I stick to EVOO, EVCO and pure butter. Tastes better too!

rabblerabble

I'll use butter sparingly to cook with at times, but never use margarine. Always best to stick with NATURAL occurring foods.

jennaworksout

margarine = garbage

neanderthin

The hydrogenation process starts with non hydrogenated oils. Then it goes through this process so it can stay solid at room temperature.

Yes, but most spreads these days don't have any hydrogenated oils. So it's really kind of irrelevant.

They're (being the margarine business) finally know that trans fats are taboo and probably is going to cost them in customer loyalty going forward and new sales. The law stated that under .5g's they could claim 0 trans fats per serving, in the EU it's .2g's and in Canada also, but they can't say "no trans fats" which was and is confusing, but people (general public) are getting smarter. Now they are deluding {mixing with other liquid oils) the fully hydrogenated oils that contain no trans fats (weird but true) and other methods, like fractionating and interesterification and using palm oils. There's lots of margarines that have no trans fats now and the ones that do, will be dropped eventually, probably when their customer base drops dead.....j/k:happy:

Sarauk2sf

if it's under .5 g, they don't have to label it as partially hydrogenated. they can call it whatever they want. check out their website - nowhere does it say there is NO trans fat! They simply say 0g of trans fat - which is the EXACT loophole we were talking about earlier.

believe what you want dude.

I just bought a bag of frozen broccoli. It says 0g trans fat. That means it might have up to 0.5g of trans fat! It doesn't say NO TRANS FAT!

Sheesh. Believe whatever you want, but don't lie to people. Country Crock, and many other vegetable oil spreads, have zero trans fat. In fact they have less trans fat than butter, because 2-5% of bovine fat is trans fat.

There are reasons to avoid oil spreads such as Country Crock, but trans fat content is not one of them. If you believe it contains trans fat, you are mistaken.

See, this confused me. *If* trans fats are the reasons for avoiding marg like CC, and even if there was a tinsy amount in CC, which there is not, then:

0.4999999% < 2 - 3%, so why pick butter over marg for that reason as it would be illogical (which is what I know you are saying but it seems to be being missed with the 0.00000% v 0.4999999% debate).

Or am I missing something here?

icmuse

one word: BUTTER

mmmm mmmmm goooood!

jonnythan

if it's under .5 g, they don't have to label it as partially hydrogenated. they can call it whatever they want. check out their website - nowhere does it say there is NO trans fat! They simply say 0g of trans fat - which is the EXACT loophole we were talking about earlier.

believe what you want dude.

I just bought a bag of frozen broccoli. It says 0g trans fat. That means it might have up to 0.5g of trans fat! It doesn't say NO TRANS FAT!

Sheesh. Believe whatever you want, but don't lie to people. Country Crock, and many other vegetable oil spreads, have zero trans fat. In fact they have less trans fat than butter, because 2-5% of bovine fat is trans fat.

There are reasons to avoid oil spreads such as Country Crock, but trans fat content is not one of them. If you believe it contains trans fat, you are mistaken.

See, this confused me. *If* trans fats are the reasons for avoiding marg like CC, and even if there was a tinsy amount in CC, which there is not, then:

0.4999999% < 2 - 3%, so why pick butter over marg for that reason as it would be illogical (which is what I know you are saying but it seems to be being missed with the 0.00000% v 0.4999999% debate).

Or am I missing something here?

Well you seem to be confusing % and grams a little bit, but yeah. Butter has some quantity of trans fat, but not enough to label... and at worst margarine brand x might have some, but not enough to label. So deciding between them based on trans fat content is silly.

There are better reasons to prefer butter over margarine.