" .. Artificial trans fats – derived from the hydrogen-treated oils used to give margarine its easy-to-spread texture and prolong the shelf life of crackers, cookies, icing and hundreds of other staples in the American diet .."

And this begs the question: Why is the shelf life of trans fat containing products extended ?!
Answer: Because the usual food spoiling life forms - bacteria, bugs, moulds ... whatever - cannot us the trans fat as nutrition, ergo no spoilage. As all known life forms are ultimately similar biology ( based on DNA ) the implication is that such "foods" are not good for us either !!