Fraudulent nutrition panels used to sell unsafe Trans Fats & Junk foods

OFAN organizer Jeremy Koosed has devoted considerable amount of time advocating for an expedited phase out of Trans fats under the campaign #ProtectUsAll because #TransFatsKill and Heart Attack Prevention matters! Any reputable health agency or NGO advises avoiding TransFat, and many articles list product categories that demand scrutiny.

We prefer the aggressive approach championed by CSPI, which is to call out specific brands, and arm folks with the most detailed information on which products these are, how they are presented in the marketplace, and encourage you to file complaints with the companies thru Yelp, Facebook reviews, Tweets, Emails, and even stage protests.

Extensive sleuthing to monitor Trans Fats in online market places has revealed it's common practice that NO INGREDIENTS or NUTRITION PANELS are provided on TF-content products. About half the merchant listings fall in this category, especially if it's the manufacturer page. They'll throw up a picture, but if it can be enlarged, it doesn't show the nutrition panel or its too blurry to decipher. Sites that do list ingredients may not have a nutrition panel or vice versa, so consumers need to look for Partially Hydrogenated and Grams TF. We've never found a MERCHANT or MANUFACTURER disclosing the NON-GRAS status or disease risk when describing their products, which is pretty cavalier & negligent because we are coming up on the June 2018 deadline after which companies will not be permitted to sell TF unless specially authorized by FDA. It's pretty rude to sell something with a shelf life longer than 6 months and not tell the frosting makers or donut fries bakers "hey you will not be able to sell prods. made with this after June..."

But that would be asking a lot from junk food makers, most of whom prefer vague and misleading quality-assurances.

THE WORST OFFENDERS are when the information presented is not just incomplete, but str8 FALSE!

Here's our log of merchant sites perpetuating this most offensive TRAP. If You see anything close to this on the Web, report it to the FDA Food safety hotline for your State!!

CK-brand hi-ratio shortening: A mistake on the nutrition panel says that 3.5g Trans fat is 15% DV - a FATAL error! FDA guidance is clear that DV field be left blank for TFs. Subsequent versions of the packaging removed this error, yet 3 websites were selling the GMO Junk with this FALSE label. You can see the panel, not just a blurry version. We insta'd the screenshot from Craftsy.com and made video for the amazon listing. Contacted several of the vendors, CK, and FDA and the dangerous infraction is still up [as of Nov 12]

Martin's Chips: Two vendors displayed 0g Trans Fats on product with 3g! The FDA thanked us for submitting a complaint but the fraud labels are still on these sites [as of Nov 12]

FOODSERVICEDIRECT.com: prolific & reckless fraud labels. Here's an example of a site that LOST their moral compass. This cannot be chalked up to simple human error. Over 40 listings, on junk-foods from Ventura, Stratas, Brill, Lawrence Foods & Rich's display blatantly false/doctored/misleading info. 1st uncovered 2 fraud labels lumped into one listing for Mel-Fry. This is almost comical if this wasn't a known-killer, partially-banned oil!

Later cataloged many more listings. Some of the fraud labels also migrated over to Harrisburgstore.com

Jimmy Dean: Would you believe their processed meat packaged dinners have no total calories or fat? Neither can I! Yet it's on their corporate home-page. What to do about this?

Small Victory: Amazon removed this fraud listing, after it was reported to the Washington State Atty general. The nerve to display Trans Fat Phase oil claiming to Fat Free [SMH]!

Please offer me whistle blower protection, as this may piss off offending companies. <3 Jeremy