Trans-Fats: Clarification

Hopefully by now you are all reading the ingredient lists of the foods you buy and looking for products that contain zero trans-fats. And hopefully you are looking for the word "hydrogenated" in that ingredient list, which should trigger an automatic response of "ew! no trans-fats for me!" Good. 

However, a few weeks ago when I was shopping for Halloween candy I kept finding different words listed in the ingredient list (yes, I read the ingredient list of candy). Fully hydrogenated vs. partially hydrogenated vs. hydrogenated ...This got me thinking: do all these words mean the same thing? So after a little research (and a longwinded discussion with my co-workers) I came across some useful information regarding these variations of the finicky word "hydrogenated". Based on this newfound information, I must clarify parts of what I said in my previous post on identifying trans-fats. 

To clarify: if the ingredient list says...

"Fully (or Completely) Hydrogenated"... the product does not contain any trans-fats. Apparently the process by which fully hydrogenated oils are made does not result in trans-fats. Good to know.

"Partially Hydrogenated"... the product does contain trans-fats. As soon as you see these two words together, put the product away and look for a trans-fat free option.

"Hydrogenated"...the product may contain trans-fats. Ugh. How typically complicated. I would err on the side of caution and look for an alternative product. There is probably a healthier option that contains fewer ingredients anyways. 

I do not want to ruin anyone's love of candy, especially those who are big fans of Halloween. And annually having a few pieces of candy that are laden with partially-hydrogenated oils is not going to kill you. So feel free to stop reading now, if you would rather stay in blissful ignorance of the candies made with and without partially hydrogenated oils. For those who wish to be well-informed, read on. 

Candies that do not contain the word "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated":

--Reeses

--Kit-Kats

--Nestle Crunch bar

--Payday

--Peppermint Patty

--Mounds Bar

Candies that contain the ambiguous word "hydrogenated":

--3 Musketeers

--Milky Way

--Butterfingers

--Twix

--Snickers Almond

Candies that contain partially hydrogenated oils: 

--Snickers Dark

--Snickers Original

--Snickers Peanut Butter

--Baby Ruth 

**This is not a comprehensive list - just candies for which I was interested in knowing the ingredients lists. If there is a candy missing from the lists that you want to know more about, feel free to let me know or look it up yourself and report back!