"FDA Seeks To Ban Trans Fats in Processed Foods Due To Health Risks"

"The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday proposed banning artificial trans fats in processed food ranging from cookies to frozen pizza, citing the risk of heart disease."

"Partially hydrogenated oils, the primary dietary source of the fats, have been shown to raise 'bad' cholesterol. Reducing the use of trans fats could prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease a year, the FDA said.

'While consumption of potentially harmful artificial trans fat has declined over the last two decades in the United States, current intake remains a significant public health concern,' FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said."

Toni Clarke and Ros Krasny report for Reuters November 7, 2013.