The US has proposed to ban artificial trans fats in processed foods, saying its reduction in diet could prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease in America each year.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) moved towards banning trans fat from foods like microwave popcorn, margarines and frozen pizzas.
Under the proposal, which is open for public comment for 60 days, the FDA announced its preliminary determination that partially hydrogenated oils, the source of trans fats, were no longer "generally recognised as safe" for use in food.
The FDA's preliminary determination is based on available scientific evidence and the findings of expert scientific panels, the agency said in a statement.
"While consumption of potentially harmful artificial trans fat has declined over the last two decades in the United States, current intake remains a significant public health concern," said FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg.
"The FDA's action today is an important step toward protecting more Americans from the potential dangers of trans fat. Further reduction in the amount of trans fat in the American diet could prevent an additional 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year - a critical step in the protection of Americans' health," Hamburg said.
Consumption of trans fat raises low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or bad cholesterol, increasing the risk of coronary heart disease.
The independent Institute of Medicine (IOM) has concluded that trans fat provides no known health benefit and that there is no safe level of consumption of artificial trans fat.
Additionally, the IOM recommends that consumption of trans fat should be as low as possible while consuming a nutritionally adequate diet.
In recent years, many US food manufacturers and retailers have voluntarily decreased trans fat levels in many foods and products they sell, the statement noted.
Trans fat can be found in some processed foods, such as certain desserts, microwave popcorn products, frozen pizzas, margarines and coffee creamers.
Since trans fat content information began appearing in the Nutrition Facts label of foods in 2006, trans fat intake among American consumers has declined from 4.6 grams per day in 2003 to about 1 gram per day in 2012.
"One of the FDA's core regulatory functions is ensuring that food, including all substances added to food, is safe," said Michael Taylor, the FDA's deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine.
"Food manufacturers have voluntarily decreased trans fat levels in many foods in recent years, but a substantial number of products still contain partially hydrogenated oils, which are the major source of trans fat in processed food," Taylor said.
