What matters most is how a particular type of oil affects the Nutrition Facts panel. However, most companies use more than one oil to replace trans fat; they use a blend. “At our company, we provide custom oil blends to address unique product requirements,” says Willie Loh, PhD, market development manager for a specialty-oil supplier. In many ways, it is not necessarily the type of oil that is important, but whether or not the Nutrition Facts Panel reads zero grams of trans fat and low levels of saturated fat.
Some believe that referring to an oil as a saturated or unsaturated fat can mislead manufacturers and consumers, since either term can refer to an oil that contains different proportions of saturated and unsaturated fats.
“Most food companies say that shifting trans fats to saturated fats simply postpones the problem,” opines Loh. Consumers understand that both saturated and trans fats are bad. “They don't say I'll eat this one because it's slightly less bad,” he jokes.