Ever since 2006 food manufacturers in the U.S. have been required to list trans fats on the nutrition label immediately under saturated fat and some states have banned restaurants and fast-food outlets from serving foods containing more than 0.5g of trans fats per serving - these actions have had a substantial impact on the use of trans fats in the U.S. - food giant Kraft, for example, reduced the trans fat content in about 650 of its products to meet the labelling deadline.

CHOICE has condemned the national regulator, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) for being too complacent about the well-established risks to health from trans fats and is calling for it to be mandatory that the amount of trans fat and saturated fat be included on the label of foods.

CHOICE says labelling has had a substantial impact on the levels of trans fats in processed foods in the U.S. and Canada and there is no reason to believe it wouldn't have a similar impact in Australia.

CHOICE says it is also important that trans fats are not reduced at the expense of increased levels of saturated fats in some foods and warns that trans fats offer no nutritional benefits and consumers should be informed about how to avoid them.

FSANZ meanwhile insists its ultimate goal is "a safe food supply and well-informed consumers".