Final answer:
Artificial trans fats are created to improve the texture and shelf life of food products, but their consumption is associated with an increase in 'bad' cholesterol and heart disease, leading to FDA actions to remove them from the U.S. food supply.
Step-by-step explanation:
Companies create artificial trans fats through a process known as hydrogenation. Hydrogenation solidifies liquid oils, making them semi-solid and suitable for various food products. This is done to improve the texture and shelf life of products such as margarine, certain types of peanut butter, and shortening. However, consumption of trans fats has been linked to an increase in levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDL), or 'bad' cholesterol, which can lead to plaque formation in the arteries and result in heart disease. Recognizing these health risks, the food industry has been moving away from partially hydrogenated oils, a major source of trans fats, especially after the FDA's actions to eliminate manufactured trans fats from the U.S. food supply by 2021.
Artificial trans fats are created by the food industry to make oils semi-solid and give processed food products a desirable consistency. This is done through a process called hydrogenation, where hydrogen gas is bubbled through oils to solidify them. The double bonds in the hydrocarbon chain of the oils may convert from the cis-conformation to the trans-conformation during this process.