Soybean Canola Palm Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil

This ingredient is a blend of several vegetable oils, including soybean, canola, palm, and cottonseed oil. These oils are extracted from their respective plant sources. The cottonseed oil in this blend has undergone partial hydrogenation, a process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oil to make it more solid and stable.

Manufacturers add this blend to foods to improve texture, provide a desirable mouthfeel, and extend shelf life. The partially hydrogenated component helps make products more solid at room temperature. It is often found in baked goods like cookies, as well as baking mixes and some yogurts.

Partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) are the primary source of artificial trans fat in the diet. The FDA determined that PHOs are no longer Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) for use in human food, effective in 2018, due to concerns about their impact on heart health. Scientific evidence indicates that artificial trans fats can raise 'bad' (LDL) cholesterol and lower 'good' (HDL) cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease. JECFA has evaluated trans fatty acids and their health implications.