[Carey]

In Uk I used to check the ingredients of foods and generally rule out any that had hydrogenated fats in. (Yes I know they are mostly in treat foods but we did indulge in bicuits and sweet rubbish chocs eg Mars Bars!)

I haven't seen any reference to hydrogenated fats here; are they just not listed?

[Ngeru]

Hmmn, a bugbear of mine is the lack of food labelling standards here, so let's just say they are a bit loose compared to what we are used to. Whilst there are some labelling standards a lot of the more specific disclosures are voluntary and depend on the manufacturer - such as stating the country of origin.

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority is the place to look for the latest requirements.

http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/consumers/food-safety-topics/recalls-and-product-advice/trans-fatty-acids/fact-sheet-trans-fatty-acids-v5.htm

This is what they have to say on trans fats:

Are trans fatty acids identified on food labels?

The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code does not require manufacturers to label the trans fatty acid content of foods unless they make a nutrition claim about cholesterol, saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated or trans fatty acids, or omega-3, omega-6 or omega-9 fatty acids. However, voluntary labelling is permitted and many edible oil spread manufacturers in Australia and New Zealand have chosen to voluntarily label their products.

[BkyMonster]

Avoiding trans fats is best done by avoiding spreads made with corn, soybean etc oils that are not liquid at room temperature (you can make olive oil spread for instance by freezing olive oil and then keeping it in the fridge).

If you eat fried things you want them to be fried in butter, coconut oil, tallow, peanut oil or other saturated (or at the very least monounsaturated like peanut oil) fats. Saturated fats can never end up as trans fats.

High temperatures can damage polyunsaturated oils such as corn, canola, soybean, etc so frying done with them is also unhealthy.
Probably the best way to see is to read the ingredients (as they generally list all of them as far as I've seen regardless of hydrogenation status) and note which oils are generally going to be hydrogenated if they end up in a product like a baked good or other shelf stable junk food item. Mostly plant oils (bad) in your baked goods instead of butter/coconut/palm kernel ( better) etc oil are probably going to be hydrogenated.

[dilanium]

I don't eat anything that says vegetable fat (as opposed to vegetable oil).