Put Down The Frosting: FDA Takes On Trans Fat - NBC Right Now/KNDO/KNDU Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA |

Since the 1950's, partially hydrogenated oils have been widely used in process foods to increase shelf life.

It's been established for some time that trans fats are bad news when it comes to heart health.

Now the Food and Drug Administration has begun the process of banning trans fats from our food supply.

Dr. David Frid, Cardiologist with the Cleveland Clinic says, "the problem with trans fatty acids is they also lower good cholesterol, HDL cholesterol."

Citing this and other scientific research, the Food and Drug Administration has made the preliminary determination that trans fats are no longer "generally recognized as safe" for use in food.

"Decreasing trans fatty acids or removing them completely would eliminate about 20,000 cardiac events a year," said Dr. Frid.

The Grocery Manufactures Association issued a statement saying producers have already begun the elimination process.

The FDA's action now goes through a public comment period.

If finalized, manufactures would have some time to phase out trans fats from their products.