On Tuesday, December 5^th, the New York City Board of Health voted unanimously to ban the use of trans fats in restaurants, making New York City the first city to set limits on the use of these dangerous fats in public eateries. The ban will be imposed over the course of the next two years to allow restaurants the opportunity to find new recipes while migrating away from current products. Restaurants will be required to stop using frying oils that contain artificial trans fats by July 2007, and completely eliminate trans fats from all foods by July 2008. The Board of Health relaxed its stance slightly from the initial ban which called for the complete elimination of trans fats from all foods by this coming July. The weeks preceding the Board of Health vote were filled with anticipation, as restaurant owners eagerly awaited notification of whether their menus would be required to undergo an overhaul. The biggest concern that faces the food industry is convincing consumers that the switch to more healthy cooking alternatives will keep the taste and texture of foods the same.

Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden, said that the Board seriously weighed concerns from the food industry about the unrealistic timeframe the ban imposes. Ultimately, the Board of Health voted to enforce the ban for the safety and well-being of those eating in New York City restaurants. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is known to be somewhat health-obsessed, has already banned smoking in bars and restaurants and felt this was an appropriate step in the right direction. In an interview Bloomberg was quoted “nobody wants to take away your French fries and hamburgers, but if you can make them with something that is less damaging to your health, we should do that.” The adverse health effects of trans fats have been well documented, and some within the medical field believe that trans fats are actually worse from a health standpoint than saturated fats. The reason being, trans fats will result in an increase in an individual’s LDL (bad) cholesterol, while at the same time lowering that individual’s HDL (good) cholesterol. Saturated fats, while also contributing to an increase of LDL cholesterol levels, do not have the same adverse effect on HDL cholesterol as trans fats.

The process of generating an artificial trans fat involves creating a solid fat from a liquid fat by adding hydrogen; a process known as hydrogenation. This is often identified by reviewing the ingredients on the food labels of cookies, crackers, and cakes. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil listed in the ingredients means trans fats are in the food. Due to the fact that the presence of trans fats will increase the shelf life of almost any food, many pre-made blends such as those commonly used for pancakes or hot chocolate also contain trans fats. Approximately 40% of all trans fats consumed in the American diet are from commercial baked goods such as crackers, cookies, doughnuts, pies, and breads. Nearly 20% of trans fat consumption comes from margarines, while another 20% comes from animal products.

In response to the ban on trans fats in New York City and the likelihood that more municipalities may step in with further restrictions, many of the larger companies within the food industry are exploring healthier alternatives for their products. In August, Wendy’s International Inc. introduced a zero trans fat oil, while Yum Brands Inc.’s KFC and Taco Bell are planning to follow suit and eliminate trans fats from their kitchens. Taco Bell in particular has taken the matter quite seriously, conducting several blind consumer taste tests and extensive research to pacify their consumers’ concerns about taste and texture of their products. Although New York City’s Board of Health is being applauded by the medical community for their progressive thought process, the American Heart Association warns that if restaurants are not given enough time to find healthy replacements, they may revert to using ingredients that are high in saturated fats. Moving forward, it will be important for health advocacy groups to stay abreast of what our restaurants are cooking with and how our food is prepared.