New York - The Jarosch Bakery has been supplying goodies for more than 50 years, winning special renowned for its butter cream frosting and for butter cookies with an extra tender texture.
But those treats and an array of lip-smacking others face an uncertain future after US regulators this week announced a ban on partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), or trans fats, a key ingredient in shortening used for many confections.
"It will certainly cost us some money to reformulate," said Kenneth Jarosch, who plans to scour his suppliers for shortenings made with alternative oils before the ban takes effect in 2018.
But Jarosch, whose grandfather and father started the business in 1959, also fears customers will not like the change.
"It will have an effect on the taste and texture and that's what we're all about," Jarosch told AFP by telephone from suburban Chicago.
"And that's what distinguishes us from Walmart and Costco and, if that goes down the drain, we're going to be in a world of hurt."
On Tuesday the US Food and Drug Administration, in a long-telegraphed move, announced that PHOs, the main source of industrially produced trans fat, would be barred from the US food supply starting in June 2018, saying the shift would save thousands of lives.
PHOs are not "generally recognized as safe" due to their role in heart disease, the FDA said.
FDA officials say even very small quantities of trans fats can add up to dangerous levels and will not permit the ingredient without an exemption.
The food industry like PHOs, which are made in an industrial process by adding hydrogen to vegetable oil.
Trans fats allow foods to remain solid at higher temperatures, provide texture to icings and other foods and have distinctive flavours that are desirable in fried foods. They can also increase the shelf life of baked goods.
AFP
