By pummeling companies that used tropical oils like coconut and palm oil and animal fats like butter—all of which were high in what were believed to be evil saturated fats—CSPI and NHSA had inadvertently caused Americans to use a far more dangerous product: trans fats. Suddenly products like margarine, which contained 25 percent trans fats, became the “healthy alternative.” By the early 1990s, tens of thousands of products were made using partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Because they were cheap, kosher, and promoted as heart-healthy alternatives, they flew off the shelves.
