New York Becomes First Major American City to Ban Trans-Fat

Posted Wed, 2006/12/06 - 05:38 by Bob Frankman

NYC Restaurants To Be Banned From Using Trans Fats Within 6 Months

Health officials approved a ban on artificial trans fats in the Big Apple's restaurants Tuesday, making New York City the nation's first metropolis to outlaw it. The city's Board of Health unanimously approved the bill, requiring restaurants to stop using most frying oils containing artificial trans fat within 6 months and to keep it out of all foods by July 2008.

The Board of Health also approved another first in the country that requires fast food outlets to prominently display the caloric content of each menu item on menu boards or near cash registers. [NY Times]

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch quoted from the professor that lead a much cited research study on the damage of trans-fat:

"It is very significant," said Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard University School of Public Health. "New York is not just the Big Apple, it's a big domino as well," he said. "Lots of other cities will be following."

On the other hand, the fear is that the NYC legislation will push customers to other unhealthy fats.

The National Restaurant Association, while supporting an overall shift away from these fats, criticized the ban and its deadlines for potentially harming public health. The ban might pressure some restaurants to resort to using unhealthy saturated fats instead, association spokeswoman Sue Hensley said. [via STLToday]