Canada has taken another step towards becoming the second country in the world to legislate limits on trans fats.

In a vote Tuesday evening, the House of Commons passed an NDP motion that would ban processed trans fats from food sold in Canada within a year.

NDP Leader Jack Layton introduced the motion last Wednesday, prompting a day of debate and Ottawa's quick announcement of a task force to recommend strategies and healthy alternatives.

Layton's motion is seeking an initial cap on permissible levels of trans fats at five grams per 100 grams of oil. That would later be lowered to two grams.

According to University of Guelph professor Bruce Holub, Canadians are now eating about 8.5 grams of trans per person per day.

In 1997, a New England Journal of Medicine study found eating one gram of trans fats a day for a decade increased the risk of cardiovascular disease by 20 per cent. Since then, there have been a host of other studies warning of the dangers of consuming too much.

Recent research out of Harvard Medical School, for example, has shown high trans fat intake represents a significant risk for developing premature diabetes.

Hydrogenated, or trans fats, form mainly when liquid oil is subjected to hydrogen and changed from a liquid into a solid fat -- for example when a vegetable oil is made into margarine or shortening.

Their ability to remain stable at room temperature means long shelf lives when trans fats are used in processed foods.

So far, Denmark is the only country to legislate limits, with a goal of reducing trans fats to no more than two per cent of food content.