Here's a New Year's resolution that will make your life healthier: Read food labels.
Jan. 1 was the date by which U.S. food manufacturers must clearly label trans fats in their products or abandon their inclusion. On the whole, with the public's new awareness of the bad press trans fats have been getting, they've moved to leave them out rather than identify their presence on labels.
So on a supermarket shelf near you will be many familiar canned, ready-made and processed foods no longer containing those potentially heart-disease-provoking thickened vegetable oils.
That's with a few exceptions. In the United States, manufacturers can continue to offload existing stocks of the original trans-fatty products, of which they may have several weeks' or months' supply, depending on how many of these we rush out and buy.
This is perfectly within the bounds of federal regulations, which allow for inventory-related delay in meeting the new labeling requirements. You have to reckon, I suppose, that manufacturers wanting to sell off products whose trans-fat content is not clearly indicated naturally want to recoup their investment in producing fats-free versions.
So look at the labels of every packaged and canned prepared food you buy to check if trans fats are still present.
European Union consumers of organic foods will have to wait three years for clarity over what constitutes organic. So far, individual member states have been free to use their own organic declarations. But in January 2009 new rules mandate that at least 95 percent of the final product must be organic to bear the new and compulsory organic EU logo or the words "EU organic" on all organic products sold in EU member states.
Organic products containing up to 0.9 percent content of genetically modified organisms from "accidental contamination" may also bear the EU organic logo.
These rules will come into force earlier, in January 2007, for imports of organic products into the European Union. Currently there are no importation rules in force for complying with EU standards.
In the United States the current labeling requirements of the Department of Agriculture National Organic Standard "includes a 100 percent organic category (fresh and processed products) as well as the organic category (95 percent or more organic ingredients), and the made-with-organic category (70 percent or more organic ingredients)," Lisa Bell of the Organic Trade Association told Eat To Live.
"Consumers have a choice in the products that they purchase because of these clearly defined labeling categories. If they want to purchase products that are 100 percent organic, they can do so."
So it pays us all to Read Those Labels.
Here's my version of relatively healthy cookies to squidge together with (unhealthy, so optional) frosting.
-- 4 ounces softened butter
-- 2 ounces sugar
-- 4 ounces self-raising flour
-- 1 ounce cocoa powder
-- Pinch of salt
-- Cream the butter and sugar together till pale.
-- Sift in flour and cocoa. Add the pinch of salt.
-- Roll into walnut-sized balls and flatten with a fork onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.
-- Cook at 350 F for 10 minutes, then turn the tray 180 degrees and cook for a further 7.
-- Cool, then sandwich two together, if you want, with the following frosting:
-- 4 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese
-- Scant 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
-- ¼ cup heavy cream
-- Beat the cream cheese till smooth, sift in the sugar and beat again, pour in the cream and beat again then spread onto one cookie and press the second on top.
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