Target eliminates added trans fats from Archer Farms private brand

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) has done it again -- it's beaten its larger rival to a retailing milestone. Trans fats, which generally show up as "partially hydrogenated oil" on the nutrition labels of thousands of processed food products, are no longer available in Target's own private label brand.

An in-depth column I wrote a month ago looked at the private label brands between the two largest discount retailers in the U.S. -- Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Target. Not only is Target's main private-label brand packaged and marketed in a more appealing way, it's now healthier. Certain municipalities are even banning trans fats in restaurant menu items. Consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about the fats used in the products they consume. Target just one-upped everyone by taking trans fats away from all products in the Archer Farms portfolio.

Now, Target does say that all items in its Archer Farms brand "contain zero grams of added trans fat," which probably means that naturally occurring trans fats may still be included in some products. Also, Target said that it was merely meeting the Food and Drug Administration's definition of zero added trans fats. No better way to disclaim thyself, yes?

Currently, the FDA allows foods with 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving to be labeled as featuring zero grams of trans fat. Of course, manufacturers can shift around serving sizes to bypass this in a sneaky way. Hopefully, though, other retailers will follow suit and drop as many added trans fats in private label products as possible.