Consumer products giant Unilever Canada Inc. said yesterday that it is now making its entire line of margarine products without trans-fatty acids, joining a growing contingent of companies wiping out trans fats.
Among its many products, Toronto-based Unilever makes the popular spreads Imperial, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and Blue Bonnet. The company -- which had sales of $1.6-billion in 2002 -- is a division of Dutch behemoth Unilever NV.
The trans-fat-free products will be on store shelves over the next three months, said Barbara Ledermann, Unilever Canada's nutrition affairs manager.
With the move, there will be no Unilever products containing "any significant" amount of the fats, the company said.
The changes, Ms. Ledermann said, came from a combination of consumer demand and recent reports from the World Health Organization and Health Canada encouraging people to reduce the amount of trans-fats they eat.
Unilever's move is the latest in a series of similar changes implemented by some other high-profile food firms, including Frito-Lay Canada Inc. and Pepperidge Farm.
Trans-fatty acids are manufactured partly hydrogenated oils described by one Canadian nutritional scientist as a "secret killer."
The fats are found in many snacks and processed and fast foods. Trans-fats can raise levels of the so-called bad cholesterol, while lowering the good cholesterol in the body.
Canadians are reportedly the among the biggest consumers of trans-fatty acids, ingesting about 10 grams a day on average. Research has shown that eating as little as one gram daily can increase the risk of heart disease by 20 per cent.
Daniel Peris, an analyst with Federated Investors Inc. in Pittsburgh, described the move as "very important" for Unilever, but there remains a significant "caveat."
Food manufacturers have consistently made a slew of changes catering to consumers' diet demands over the past 40 years, only to see the changes eclipsed by something new -- ranging from low-sodium diets to low-fat routines to the current low-carbohydrate craze, he said.
"From an investment perspective or even just a business perspective, you simply have to ask: Is this time for real?" Mr. Peris said, adding: "The demographics do suggest that this [the anti-trans-fat movement]has significant staying power in the business community because so many of the baby boomers are now in middle age and pondering their mortality."
Mr. Peris said that because the North American population only grows by about 1 per cent a year and the booming diet industry is causing many people to scale back consumption, food companies have to rely on these types of strategies to try to take away market share from rivals to improve sales.
"Look for more of this," he said.