New York bans trans-fats

[Labarum]

I heard this on the BBC!

The NY Times has:

City Health Board Bans Trans Fats

Filed at 12:54 p.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Board of Health voted Tuesday to make New York the nation's first city to ban artery-clogging artificial trans fats at restaurants -- from the corner pizzeria to high-end bakeries.

The board, which passed the ban unanimously, did give restaurants a slight break by relaxing what had been considered a tight deadline for compliance. Restaurants will be barred from using most frying oils containing artificial trans fats by July and will have to eliminate the artificial trans fats from all of their foods by July 2008.

But restaurant industry representatives called the ban burdensome and unnecessary.

''We don't think that a municipal health agency has any business banning a product the Food and Drug Administration has already approved,'' said Dan Fleshler, a spokesman for the National Restaurant Association.

Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said recently that officials seriously weighed complaints from the restaurant industry, which argued that it was unrealistic to give them six months to replace cooking oils and shortening and 18 months to phase out the ingredients altogether.

The ban contains some exceptions; for instance, it would allow restaurants to serve foods that come in the manufacturer's original packaging.

Trans fats are believed to be harmful because they contribute to heart disease by raising bad cholesterol and lowering good cholesterol at the same time. Some experts say that makes trans fats worse than saturated fat.

The panel also passed another measure that has made restaurants unhappy: Some that chose to inform customers about calorie content will have to list the information right on the menu. The rule would generally apply to fast-food restaurants and other major chains.

Sheila Weiss, director of nutritional policy for the restaurant association, said the rule would be a disincentive for restaurants to provide any nutritional information.

Trans fats are formed when liquid oils are made into solid fats by adding hydrogen in a process called hydrogenation. A common example of this is partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is used for frying and baking and turns up in processed foods like cookies, pizza dough and crackers. Trans fats, which are favored because of their long shelf life, are also found in pre-made blends like pancake and hot chocolate mix.

The FDA estimates the average American eats 4.7 pounds of trans fats each year.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who banned smoking in bars and restaurants during his first term, is somewhat health-obsessed, and even maintains a weight-loss competition with one of his friends in order to stay slim.

He has dismissed cries that New York is crossing a line by trying to legislate diets.

''Nobody wants to take away your french fries and hamburgers -- I love those things, too,'' he said recently. ''But if you can make them with something that is less damaging to your health, we should do that.''

Many food makers have stopped using trans fats on their own, after the Food and Drug Administration began requiring companies to list trans fat content on labels.

Fast-food restaurants and other major chains were particularly interested in the board's decision on Tuesday, because for these companies, a trans-fat ban wouldn't just involve substituting one ingredient for another. In addition to overhauling recipes, they have to disrupt nationwide supply operations and try to convince customers that the new french fries and doughnuts will taste just as good as the originals.

Already, McDonald's Corp. has been quietly experimenting with more than a dozen healthier oil blends but has not committed to a full switch. At an investor conference last month, CEO Jim Skinner said the company is making ''very good progress,'' at developing an alternative, and vowed to be ready for a New York City ban.

Wendy's International Inc. introduced a zero-trans fat oil in August and Yum Brands Inc.'s KFC and Taco Bell said they also will cut the trans fats from their kitchens.

Taco Bell worked for more than two years to find a substitute, conducting blind consumer taste tests and extensive research, the company said.

Chicago is also considering its own trans fat law, which wouldn't ban them outright but would severely restrict the amount that kitchens can use. The measure would apply only to large restaurants, defined as those that make more than $20 million in sales per year.

New York's move to ban trans fats has mostly been applauded by health and medical groups, although the American Heart Association warns that if restaurants aren't given ample time to make the switch, they could end up reverting to ingredients high in saturated fat, like palm oil.

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Associated Press Writer David B. Caruso contributed to this report.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/A...=1&oref=slogin

[dotsamantha]

I live here and i didn't know this, ... pretty cool.

[doeskin]

This is amazing! I can't wait until they are banned altogether, everywhere.

[ValidRouge]

I heard it this morning on Good Morning America. I think it's great, but on tv this morning I heard them talking about how people should have a choice. Great.

I'm all for that...maybe they should force the restaurants to instead offer a trans-fat version and a non-trans-fat version so the people who want to die early of heart disease can get right to it.

[Hudson]

Not wanting to disagree with any of the fine folks on this board but....


It is a good idea but a very scary law. Today the government bans trans fats in restaurants. This time based on solid science. Trans fats are very dangerous.

Next might be a ban on saturated fats based on MUCH less solid science. Or maybe a ban on bacon or sour cream or red meat.

We like this law because Trans fats are truely bat. I just get scared every time the government decides for me what is good or bad. This country is based on liberty. Which means at its most basic - I have the right to eat whatever I want even if the "scientific community" thinks it will kill me.

[SugarFreeSheila]

This is such great news. I hope other states soon catch on.

[sallyseachange]

Yes... really good news!
But, like Hudson says... it could be a worrying law... who knows what could get banned!

[doeskin]

Yes, we should have the right to choose what we put in our bodies, but we need to know what's in the food to really have a right to choose. Restaurants aren't required to label it, and many people probably wouldn't know which oils had trans-fats by the name alone anyway. Also, so many restaurants use trans-fats because they last longer and are cheaper, so our choices are really limited anyhow.

I don't like to think of it as a slippery-slope just yet, I'm trying to take it as a positive thing. Now if they start banning bacon we have a problem!

[BigRunner]

Already headed down the slippery slope. Read an article on MSNBC last week (can't find it right now to post a link) that businesses are instructing there food service providers to decrease the prices on salads and pay for it by severely increasing the price on anything with fat in it (meats, cheeses, etc). The idea is to use financial incentives to get people to eat their version of healthier. If businesses are starting to do this, it's only a matter of time before the government will start taxing what they believe you shouldn't eat.

Everyone can agree that trans-fats are no good. However, on this board we probably all agree that potato chips and pop tarts are bad for you. I'm sure someone who eats these things regularly and maintains there weight with no ill health effects would be very upset if taxes were added to something that wasn't hurting their health. I would hope those people wouldn't tax my bacon, mayonnaise, etc. since I am using these foods to also improve my health.

The government should be making sure everyone has a place to live and something to eat and let us decide what is healthy and what is not.

Rich