Trans Fat Is (Almost) Out of Your Food. Here's What's Going In

Partially hydrogenated oils, the main source of artificial trans fat and an invisible mainstay of the American food industry for decades, are finally being pushed out in favor of healthier alternatives.

The change was a long time coming. Research showing the dangers of trans fat, which raises the risk of heart disease and stroke, solidified with a major study published in 1990 and got stronger with each successive round of research, forcing food makers to start looking for alternatives. From 2006 to 2008, according to one estimate, the amount of PHOs in food in North America was cut in half. By 2015, the Grocery Manufacturers Association said trans fat had been reduced by 85 percent. That year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that food makers had three years to completely remove the oils from their products.