NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A number of popular pastries, fried foods, and other products may contain more fat than you think, largely because "trans fat" does not have to be listed on their food labels, a consumer health group said Monday.

Trans fat is formed when vegetable oils are partially hydrogenated to make them more stable and solid, and recent evidence suggests that they may be as bad for the heart as saturated fat.

However, products list the amount of total fat and saturated fat, but do not necessarily include the amount of trans fat, according to the Washington, DC-based Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

For example, one brand of chicken pot pie has a label that says it contains 8 grams of saturated fat per serving, but a laboratory analysis revealed the product also has 6.5 grams of trans fat. However, companies are not required to disclose the amount of trans fat and this particular product gave no indication of the amount of trans fat it contained, according to the CSPI.

"If you want to avoid trans fat, there's no way to do it, because it's not required by food labels," Dr. Margo G. Wootan of CSPI told Reuters Health.

Trans fats are found in margarine, baked goods and other processed foods, and they are used by restaurants for frying. They are also naturally present in low levels in dairy products and meats. The use of trans fats became popular in the late 1960s, after saturated fats were conclusively linked to an increased risk of heart disease.

However, recent evidence suggests that trans fatty acids can increase blood levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL), so-called "bad" cholesterol, while lowering levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL), known as "good" cholesterol. A blood profile containing high LDL and low HDL is a strong risk factor for heart disease.

In order to measure how much trans fat is contained in different products, CSPI sent a number of foods to an independent laboratory for analysis. Some of the foods they analyzed included: Pepperidge Farm Flaky Crust Chicken Pot Pie (6.5 grams trans fat per serving), Entenmann's Rich Frosted Donut (5 grams trans fat per donut), and Mrs. Smith's Apple Pie (4 grams trans fat per slice).

In an interview with Reuters Health, Wootan said that there is no daily limit set specifically for trans fat, but people are recommended to limit their intake of saturated fat to 20 grams per day. Wootan said she believed consumers should use that limit as a measuring stick for all heart-unhealthy fats, restricting themselves to no more than 20 grams of saturated and trans fats per day, combined.

She added that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may soon issue recommendations that companies include information on trans fat on the labels. However, the FDA may not require that labels also list the daily limits of trans fat intake.

"Without a daily value, it's hard to tell if the amount of trans fat listed on the label is a lot or a little," she said. Five grams of trans fat may not sound like much, she added, but, according to her recommendations, it is one-quarter of the total amount of damaging fat people should eat in one day. "So some numbers that look low, really could contribute to your risk of heart disease," she said.

According to the FDA, including the amount of trans fat on food labels could save between 2,100 and 5,600 people from dying prematurely, most likely as a result of company's modifying their products so that the labels would report less trans fat, Wootan said.

"To be able to save 15 lives a day from listing something on a food label, it seems (manufacturers) should act as quickly as possible, so people who want to reduce their risk of heart disease can," Wootan noted.

In the meantime, for consumers who want to limit their intake of trans fats, Wootan recommended they opt for foods that are relatively low-fat in general, which tend to contain fewer saturated and trans fats.

In an interview with Reuters Health, Richard Reeves of the Institute of Shortening and Edible Oils (ISEO), said he thought the FDA would be "prudent" to not force manufacturers to establish a daily limit to trans fat intake. Research has not discovered what that limit should be, he said, and one should not be assigned arbitrarily.

"I think it makes more sense not to establish a daily value, than to construct one based on faulty scientific evidence," Reeves said.

ISEO is a trade association that represents the makers of about 90% of the edible oils and fats in the US.

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