I must say, though, that I used to ponder over this very same query before I realized the difference between man-made trans fat versus naturally occurring trans fatty acids. Obviously, neither of these 2 variations of infamous lipids are good for you in large amounts, but I would put my money on the man-made version (along with the mutated version from overused cooking oil) for being by far the worst for you - even in small quantities.
This is how the frozen burgers (or fresh, for that matter) came into the question: Most people that are somewhat familiar with this subject realize that the artificial trans fat normally comes from a process that adds hydrogen to oil, which converts the liquid into a solid fat at room temperature, which is called hydrogenation. This is a cheaper alternative for the food manufacturers that also enhances the taste, texture and shelf life of their products. As you can see, before they realized it was killing people quicker, it was a good business move. The other common unnatural way trans fatty acids come about is by overcooking and/or overusing the same oil over and over. Sort of like at some fast-food joints and restaurants or somebody that rarely changes the oil in their deep fryer, etc. Certain oils are more stable than others, but some types mutate a lot quicker to say the least. For example, don't put olive oil in a deep fryer!
Anyway, back to the frozen burger patties...
I'm just using this particular food as an example. But for a lot of folks that wasn't aware of the naturally occurring bad fats, they simply thought that cooking your own meals at home by using whole foods and ingredients that they could identify would solve this problem. Which, it mostly does. So instead of ordering burgers at a fast-food place, they just cook their own. I almost always buy fresh ground beef for burgers and I never really notice the nutritional labels on fresh meat listing this type of fat, but I see trans fat listed all the time on the packs of frozen burger patties. I used to think, "what in the hell are they doing different to these frozen patties?" Ha! Then I became aware that Trans Fat also occurs naturally in food products from ruminant animals (pork, beef, lamb, etc.).
The good news is that there has already been some studies showing how the naturally occurring variant is not that much different than regular lipids when consumed in somewhat moderate amounts. Of course, the leaner the meat, the less fat, so go figure. So, to end this post, when you see trans fat listed on a pack of frozen burger patties it is not usually something added and it's naturally occurring. However, if you see artificial char marks on cooked patties, it probably adds extra artificial trans to the mix. I read about that a few years ago on a website that was explaining what they do to create an artificial charbroiled taste. Dang, this all sounds like we just need to keep things natural, eh?
I'm not exactly sure why, but this post reminds me of one that I wrote a few years ago, here: The Reason Pork Rinds / Skins are Not a Significant Source of Protein
---End of Post "Why is Trans Fat in Frozen Burger Patties?"
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