Dive Brief:

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it is banning trans fats.
• The ban is focused on partially hydrogenated oils, the primary source of artificial trans fats in processed foods, and the food industry will be required to phase out all trans fats in a move that Commissioner Margaret Hamburg says may prevent 7,000 deaths and 20,000 heart attacks annually.
• No time table has been set for the phase-out process, but the agency will spend two months collecting comments and may set different timelines for different foods.

Dive Insight:

For the most part, the amount of trans fats in U.S. foods have been in decline for the last decade. Still, Hamburg insists they remain a significant public health concern. The differing timelines will depend on the ease of replacing trans fats in various foods.