Experts are urging a prohibition on a “dangerous” component found in numerous food items on Australian supermarket shelves.

Consumers are often unaware of its presence.

Recent studies indicate that industrial trans fats in foods might elevate the risk of heart disease among Australians.

These trans fats are produced by converting liquid vegetable oils into solid forms.

They frequently appear in inexpensive, fried, and heavily processed foods and can drastically increase the chances of heart attacks, strokes, and early mortality, even when consumed minimally.

Researchers at The George Institute for Global Health analysed 28,000 packaged foods and drinks from major supermarket chains including Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, IGA, and Harris Farm.

They found that only four products explicitly listed partially hydrogenated oils, which are the main source of industrial trans fats.

More than 4200 products included ingredients like vegetable oils without disclosing the inclusion of industrial trans fats.

More than 500 products potentially contained industrial trans fats and voluntarily reported trans fat content.

But 181 of those exceeded the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommended limit of total fat to reduce the risk of heart disease.

More than 30 per cent of the products that only contained potential industrial trans fats also exceeded the limit.

“This study shows that dangerous trans fats are still lurking in our food supply – and consumers have no way of knowing,” lead author and Research Fellow at The George Institute Dr Damian Maganja said.

“Australian labelling laws don’t require companies to state whether oils are partially hydrogenated or list trans fat content – making it almost impossible to assess how widespread the issue really is.”

Cardiovascular disease is already the leading cause of death in Australia and hidden industrial trans fats could be making the issue worse.

Nations around the world have started limiting industrial trans fats in food settings, including Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, and the UK.

The EU also introduced a mandatory 2 per cent limit on trans fats in food products.

But Australia doesn’t currently have any mandatory regulation limiting industrial trans fats in food.

Researchers are now calling on federal and state governments to ban industrial trans fats for the good of the nation.

“Without regulation, Australia risks becoming a dumping ground for unhealthy products that increasingly can’t be sold elsewhere,” said Dr Maganja.

“To truly protect public health, we need mandatory regulation.”