The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's move last month to phase out artificial trans fats over three years from all processed foods has made few ripples in Japan, where there are currently no regulations on the oil.
Health and food safety authorities here said the U.S. move will not affect policies in Japan, since the nation's average intake of trans fats — contained in everything from margarine to frozen pizzas to cookies — are far smaller than in the U.S. and the threshold set by the World Health Organization.
But some experts have criticized the government's stance, saying Japan should at least start requiring food manufacturers to display the amount of trans fats on product packages.