Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Restaurants cry foul as New York bans trans fat
Wed Dec 6, 2006 7:29 AM ET



By Angus Loten

(Inc.com) - A citywide ban on trans fat cooking oil approved Tuesday may force many of New York's smaller restaurants to raise menu prices or cut wages, restaurant owners and trade groups say.

The ban, which was approved unanimously by the city's board of health, limits the amount of trans fats in prepared food to a half gram per serving. Trans fats, an artificial preservative used in deep fryers to prepare French fries, fried chicken, and other fried goods, has been linked to heart disease.

The board of health is giving the city's 24,000 restaurants 18 months to phase out the use of trans fats, which it calls an unnecessary and dangerous ingredient.

"New Yorkers are consuming a hazardous, artificial substance without their knowledge or consent," Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden, said in a statement. "Like lead paint, artificial trans fat in food is invisible and dangerous, and it can be replaced."

The health department wants restaurants to switch to heart-healthy oils, such as corn, canola, and soy.

Chuck Hunt, the executive vice president of the local chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association, has called that a "recipe for disaster."

"The Department of Health clearly has not considered the impact to the small businesses of New York City, the small restaurants that are the backbone of many communities with our city," Hunt told city health officials at a public hearing on October 30.

He said smaller restaurants, like local diners, delis, and family-owned outlets, have fewer resources than their larger competitors, and as such face "dramatic changes to their menus, their pricing and their business models" as a result of the ban.

According to the National Restaurant Association, New York's restaurants are the city's largest private employer, representing more than 225,000 jobs and $11.3 billion in annual sales.

Other restaurant industry officials also questioned the availability of alternative oils.

"It will be a matter of years before the crop supply is adequate to produce enough trans fat free oils for some restaurant chains," Sheila Weiss, the National Restaurant Association's director of nutrition policy, told health board officials.

Tom Zagat, co-founder of the popular Zagat restaurant guide, said restaurants should have "no trouble" complying with the regulations, calling the ban "both good and long overdue."

Michael Schatsberg, a co-owner of Duke's, a casual-dining restaurant in the city's Gramercy Park district known for its fried foods, said he also doesn't expect the ban to have a big impact.

"The reason the ban isn't causing a stir, like the smoking ban did, is that most restaurants that I know of are already using healthy oils," he said.

Since opening in 1995, Duke's has prepared everything from calamari to Southern fried buffalo chicken tenders in canola oil, Schatsberg said.

Good for them. Trans fat needs to be replaced anyway.

My thoughts exactly.

Ive often heard how obesity kills more people each year than smoking, diseases, etc, and this is a step in the direction of containing this issue.

Why not just require a conspicuous disclosure that the restaurant uses trans fats (with applicable health warnings) and then let the patrons decide? 

I suppose, from a legal standpoint, it would be for the greater good of the citizens of New York to go without trans fats since it is to their health's advantage, which would ultimately not infringe on a restaurant's right to have a "disclosure with applicable health warnings" as you purposed.

I think it's stupid that there's a shitload of products that are now being advertised as having "0 trans fat."  None of those things had trans fat in the first place!  :rant:

Did New York ever get to the bottom of the "fat free" frozen yogurt scandal?  :hihi:

i wonder if american will go helathy food crazy like the UK has.

since jamie oliver did a TV show, everyone got owned.

A lot of rednecks and religious fanatics would rear their children on water and dog food if they could get away with it. Unlike smoking, where you can step outside, people usually feed their kids the same thing they eat. Like the use of night soil, the use of harmful ingredients in food should be banned in civilized society.

And before anyone points out butter and lard, I'll point out that the French live very well and very long, despite their "unhealthy" diet. With exercise, there's nothing wrong with fatty foods occasionally, but there will never be room for trans fats in a healthy diet.

Finally, traditional foods won't have trans fats beyond very low natural levels. No traditional restaurant has to worry about this ban. They might have to worry that their rivals' food will become higher in quality, though, possibly leading to competition.  :)

What a remarkably sensible post

For once.

Food manufacturer's that include this stuff should be taken to court - its proven this stuff is deadly and they do nothing about it, I'd say that was grounds for gross negligence

As far as smoking goes, children (particularly infants, toddlers) would also be at the mercy of parents who smoke in the house.  For that reason alone, smoking is possibly more deserving of a ban, along with the fact that, unlike trans fats, smoking is addictive. 

It's tough to argue against the brutal health effects of trans fats... I guess the issue is determining at what point a food ingredient becomes so harmful that it merits a ban.  I hope that powers-that-be always agree with you on butter and lard... I couldn't do without 'em! 

Most cookies until a year or two ago had trans fat in them so its more widespread than some might believe. Im sure lots of bread, pastrys and deserts in resturants still have transfat because the suppliers dont need to put a "no trans fat" label on the shipping boxes, like you'll find in supermarkets. And the average restuarant probably doesnt care either way. Even pizza crusts usually will have some kind of fat in them.

yeh i wish kfc would replace there transfats here in the uk like they have in the us i dont see why they didnt do it globally at the same time - i heard customers didnt even notice the difference

Anyone mind explaining to me what trans fat is?, tried to look it up in the dictionary but couldn't find it, we probably have a different name for it over here.....

http://www.answers.com/topic/trans-fatty-acid

Thanks mate  :beer:

I don't know how to take all this.  Yes, there are a lot of fat kids out there these days.  It shocks me because it seems like everyone was skinny when I was younger.  They are changing the menus at the schools now too.  Well, my little guy is quite picky and skinny and now he doesn't like the lunches.  I would much prefer to have him eat period.  So, he now wants to pack his lunch everyday.  My sons are very thin, but they eat a lot.  They are very active - playing soccer, football, baseball, and hockey.  Hell, I fill them up with carbs before hockey games.  I think kids are just too inactive in many cases now.

The trans fat thing is funny. When I first went to Europe (being from the U.S.), I was like, "Where are all the fat people?," because America really is getting to be disgusting. I know we shouldn't generalize, but I've been around both geographical locations to see a MAJOR difference. So much so, I used the "Hot chicks on bicycles" theme in a music video I made for a friend... which I filmed in Germany...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdqKuZAjI3I

The UK is catching up.