Poison Pizza

Nestle puts poisonous trans fat in its frozen pizzas, including California Pizza Kitchen, DiGiorno, and Stouffer's. Consumers should be aware of this toxic additive and avoid these products. Most frozen pizza brands have removed all artificial trans fat, but Nestle continues to put profits over the health of their customers.

Artificial trans fat causes coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in America. No amount of trans fat consumption is "safe," because every little bit adds to your risk of fatal heart disease. From a nutritional standpoint, trans fat is a contaminant, not a nutrient, so check the facts and avoid harming yourself and your family with Nestle's poison pizzas.

Which frozen pizzas contain trans fat?

What Is Trans Fat?

Most trans fat in the American diet comes from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (PHVO), which is manufactured by adding hydrogen atoms to normal vegetable oil at temperatures above 400 degrees Fahrenheit. This industrial process alters the molecular structure of the unsaturated fat, creating artificial trans fat molecules that do not exist in nature.

PHVO seemed like a great innovation for most of the 20th century because it combined the low cost of vegetable oils with the superior flavor and longer shelf life of more expensive animal fats. As health experts began warning that saturated fats could cause heart disease, many consumers wrongly assumed artificial trans fat was a healthier alternative. PHVO proliferated in baked goods, eventually appearing in about 40% of all packaged foods.

How to Avoid Trans Fat

Every additional gram of trans fat in your daily diet increases your risk of coronary heart disease by 20%, so it is best to avoid artificial trans fat completely.

In 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took an enormous step for consumer safety by requiring all food packaging to list the trans fat content on the nutrition facts panel. If a product lists any trans fat at all, return it to the shelf and find an alternative.

Unfortunately, if a product with trans fat contains less than 0.5 grams per serving, a loophole in the FDA regulation allows the manufacturer to round down and state "0g Trans Fat" in the nutrition facts. So a food with 0.4g per serving might say it contains 0g trans fat, but in fact just a few servings per day could dramatically raise your risk of coronary heart disease. The only certain way to avoid all artificial trans fat is to check the list of ingredients for any form of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.

Banning Trans Fat

Because of the overwhelming evidence for the deadly dangers of trans fat, many people are trying to ban or limit their use. Since 2006, restaurant food in New York City must contain no more than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, and California became the first state to require the same in 2008. Seattle and Baltimore have passed similar laws.

Internationally, Denmark passed a law in 2003 that limits trans fat content to two percent of total calories in all foods. Switzerland passed a similar restriction in 2009, requiring vegetable oils to contain no more than two percent trans fats.

As more consumers learn about the danger of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, many companies have chosen to voluntarily remove PHVO from their products. Many brands of frozen pizza use healthier oils and no trans fat. But Nestle seems to think its customers just won't notice the poison in their pizza. Be informed and avoid hurting your heart health with frozen pizza from California Pizza Kitchen, DiGiorno, and Stouffer's.