Companies like using man-made trans fats in their foods because they’re easy to use, inexpensive to produce and last a long time. Trans fats give foods a desirable taste and texture and they also extend the shelf-life of processed foods, an important feature of trans fats. Many restaurants and fast-food outlets use trans fats to deep-fry foods because oils with trans fats can be used many times in commercial fryers. (AHA)

Additional Resources:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/trans-fat/CL00032
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/nutrition-news/transfats/