Biscuit harms kids

　AMONG your favourite snacks, there may be chocolate biscuits called Oreos. But you probably never knew that with every mouthful, you may be harming your health.
　A San Francisco lawyer filed a lawsuit in early May against Kraft Foods, the maker of Oreos. Though he withdrew his charges on May 13, he said his move was only to get people to know about the dangers of trans fat found in the black and white biscuits.
　The lawyer, Stephen Joseph, argued that the trans fat that makes the filling creamy and the biscuit crisp is too dangerous for children to eat.
　He said there was a big difference between his lawsuit and others that were brought against tobacco and McDonald's.
　Consumers, Joseph said, already know that tobacco is bad for them and that McDonald's food contains a lot of fat. But "trans fat is not the same thing at all. Very few people know about it."
　The US National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, which advises the government on health matters, said last summer that this kind of fat should not be eaten at all. The organization said it is directly connected with heart disease and the buildup of bad cholesterol.
　But the US Department of Agriculture said vegetable oils that contain trans fat, are present in about 40 per cent of the food in supermarkets. Biscuits, crackers and popcorn are the biggest carriers.
　The US Food and Drug Administration has tried to force food companies to include the trans fat content on food packages, but the companies have objected to the rule. Even food labelled "low in cholesterol" may have high percentages of trans fat.
　If customers know about trans fat from food labels, it could prevent 7,600 to 17,100 cases of coronary heart disease and 2,500 to 5,600 deaths per year, the FDA said.