Qualified Health Claim for Canola Oil

FDA rules canola oil may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease

October 6, 2006: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ruled that canola oil is eligible to bear a qualified health claim on its ability to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to its unsaturated fat content.

Here's what the FDA approved for display on containers of canola oil and eligible products* sold in the U.S.:

Limited and not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that eating about 1_ tablespoons (19 grams) of canola oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to the unsaturated fat content in canola oil. To achieve this possible benefit, canola oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day. One serving of this product contains [x] grams of canola oil.

The Canola Council supports the use of this marketing tool to promote healthy eating because it's possible to point to this FDA approval to show very clearly that all fats are not created equal.

Canola oil provides a simple and affordable way to improve heart health. The hope of the canola industry is that the claim will encourage more food product designers and manufacturers to use canola oil rather than less healthy choices.

Canola oil is high in healthy unsaturated fats (93%), free of cholesterol and trans fat, and the lowest in saturated fat (7%) of any common edible oil. In addition, canola oil is multi-functional with a high heat tolerance, neutral taste and light, smooth texture.

Criteria for foods eligible to bear the claim include containing at least 4.75 grams of canola oil per reference amount customarily consumed, no more than one gram of trans fat and low levels of saturated fat and cholesterol.