Push for food label change

Some of Australia's favourite sandwich spreads, crackers and pastries contain dangerously high levels of the worst kind of fat, but the public doesn't know. Products including peanut butter, pastries and cheese crackers contain trans fats, but packaging does not reveal their presence.

Health experts want food labels changed to alert consumers.

New research shows trans fats clog arteries more than any other kind of fat.

Unlike other countries, Australia does not require manufacturers to disclose trans fats on packaging. Manufacturers must only reveal saturated fat content and total fat content.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand is reviewing the level of trans fats being consumed to see whether labelling laws need to be changed. Recent clinical trials conducted by two researchers at Oxford University and published in the British Medical Journal found that an increase of as little as 2 per cent in the consumption of foods containing trans fatty acids can lead to a 23 per cent increase in the risk of coronary heart disease.

Australian Consumer Association's Choice magazine analysed trans fats in Australian food products and found 18 common foods had dangerously high levels of trans fats.