Even Crisco trims the trans fat

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BOB MOON: Grease is the word this morning. Healthy grease. The latest company to remove trans fats is an iconic 96-year-old brand that home-bakers swear by. Helen Palmer reports from the health desk at WGBH.

HELEN PALMER: Nutritionists call trans fats artery-clogging killers, and since last year packaged goods must list them on their labels.

So Smuckers, which makes Crisco, has been trying to reformulate the product.

They tested 80 different formulas, and at last came up with one that worked. Crisco spokeswoman Maribeth Bodger

MARIBETH BODGER: Our actual most harshest testing was done with our pie champions. They actually all agreed that the new formulation performed very well and in fact some of them liked the performance better.

Bodger says the champion bakers created pie crust as tender, cakes as light, and fried chicken as crispy.

She won’t say what it cost the company to recreate Crisco. But for the home baker, the blue tub on the supermarket shelf will cost just the same.

I’m Helen Palmer for Marketplace.