15th April 2008 - Sign up to ban trans fats!

Yorkshire and the Humber Euro MP and health campaigner Linda McAvan is stepping up her campaign against harmful trans fats by urging people to support a new online petition.

Trans fats are often used in biscuits, fried and snack foods and baked goods to help lengthen the shelf life of the product. However, the artificially manufactured fats have increasingly raised concerns after being linked to high levels of cholesterol and increasing the chances of heart disease.

Last year, Ms McAvan spearheaded a campaign in the European Parliament to have the fats banned after scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston Massachusetts published work claiming that the more trans fats a woman eats, the more likely she is to be infertile, and that even a small increase in trans fat intake can result in a woman being markedly more likely to become infertile.

Although amendments to EU legislation last year did not win enough support from other MEPs, Linda McAvan has now teamed up with Swedish MEP Åsa Westlund to launch the online petition and is asking anyone worried about the fats to sign up.
 
Ms McAvan said:

"The health concerns associated with trans fats are persistent and will not go away. Already many British companies have taken steps to remove artificial trans fats from their products, and they should be commended for doing so. The fats are already severely restricted in Denmark and parts of North America. If one million Europeans sign up, the European Commission will need to look again at European laws. That is why I am urging people from around the region to join us in demanding change."

Anyone who wishes to sign the petition should click here.