Why Do Some Products Not Declare Trans Fat On Their Labels?

There may be two reasons why you are not seeing trans fat on a product's label.

First, products entering interstate commerce on or after January 1, 2006 must be labeled with trans fat. As this is happening, FDA realizes that it will take some time for food products to move through the distribution chain to a store shelf. Thus, it may take a few months for products that are listing trans fat on their label to show up on a store shelf. However, you will see many products with trans fat listed since companies have already begun to declare trans fat on their products' labels.

Second, FDA has granted enforcement discretion to some firms to use old label stock that do not declare trans fat after the effective date of January 1, 2006. In these cases, food firms followed the required process described in FDA's Guidance for Industry and FDA: Requesting an Extension to Use Existing Label Stock after the Trans Fat Labeling Effective Date of January 1, 2006 (Revised)." For each request, FDA is considering whether the declared label value for trans fat is 0.5 g or less per serving. This information is important because lower amounts of trans fat would have less impact on public health than higher amounts of trans fat. Thus, trans fat information in the Nutrition Facts panel will be missing on some products (that contain lower amounts of trans fat) throughout the next year.

If trans fat is not declared on the label and you are curious about the trans fat content of a product, contact the manufacturer listed on the label.