Spring Break
Pittsburgh suburban schools put 'mystery fat' in ranch dressing- and the kids like it
The Associated Press
Issue date: 1/19/07 Section: News
PITTSBURGH (AP) - It isn't mystery meat _ it's more like mystery fat. And the kids in the Plum Borough School District have been eating it and liking it.
The secret ingredient is a plant-based fat substitute called Z Trim. It's been in the school's popular ranch dressing for months, quietly reducing the fat and calories students are getting when they load up their salads and chicken with it.
"It's really good. Better than my ranch at home," says 16-year-old Juliann Sheldon, who used the dressing to top off her salad of lettuce, baby spinach, chunks of chicken and croutons.
The Plum Borough district in suburban Pittsburgh is believed to be the first school district in the country to use the fat substitute. School officials say the dressing's flavor is preserved, even though fat and calories are cut.
"Sometimes getting healthy foods into (students) isn't always the easiest thing to do, if they know about it," said Maryann Lazzaro, the district's food service manager and a registered dietitian.
The district began using the product 10 months ago, but just told the students about the switch Thursday.
"I think it tastes the same as it did before," said Tina DeLuca, 16.
Z Trim, which has no fat, is made from the hulls of corn, oats, soy, rice and barley. It was developed by a scientists at a U.S. Department of Agriculture lab in Illinois in the mid-1990s.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group that often speaks out on unhealthy food, said it has no safety concerns about Z Trim.
It's taken several years to get the product into production and on the market. In 1998, FiberGel Technologies of Mundelein, Ill., acquired the license for Z Trim and built a manufacturing plant with plans to market and sell it to both food manufacturers and consumers.
Sold as a gel or powder, it can be used in dressings, dips, sauces, baked goods, processed meats, snack foods, cookies, pies and other foods. Unfortunately, it cannot be fried.
The secret ingredient is a plant-based fat substitute called Z Trim. It's been in the school's popular ranch dressing for months, quietly reducing the fat and calories students are getting when they load up their salads and chicken with it.
"It's really good. Better than my ranch at home," says 16-year-old Juliann Sheldon, who used the dressing to top off her salad of lettuce, baby spinach, chunks of chicken and croutons.
The Plum Borough district in suburban Pittsburgh is believed to be the first school district in the country to use the fat substitute. School officials say the dressing's flavor is preserved, even though fat and calories are cut.
"Sometimes getting healthy foods into (students) isn't always the easiest thing to do, if they know about it," said Maryann Lazzaro, the district's food service manager and a registered dietitian.
The district began using the product 10 months ago, but just told the students about the switch Thursday.
"I think it tastes the same as it did before," said Tina DeLuca, 16.
Z Trim, which has no fat, is made from the hulls of corn, oats, soy, rice and barley. It was developed by a scientists at a U.S. Department of Agriculture lab in Illinois in the mid-1990s.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group that often speaks out on unhealthy food, said it has no safety concerns about Z Trim.
It's taken several years to get the product into production and on the market. In 1998, FiberGel Technologies of Mundelein, Ill., acquired the license for Z Trim and built a manufacturing plant with plans to market and sell it to both food manufacturers and consumers.
Sold as a gel or powder, it can be used in dressings, dips, sauces, baked goods, processed meats, snack foods, cookies, pies and other foods. Unfortunately, it cannot be fried.
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