Report: 98% of NYC restaurants no longer using trans fats

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Two years after New York City declared war on
artificial trans fats, nearly all city restaurants had successfully cut the
artery-clogging fats from their menus, health officials reported Monday.id=midArticle_byline>

In December 2006, the city's Board of Health decided to launch a gradual
trans-fat phase-out from all licensed eating establishments -- including
restaurants, school cafeterias and street vending spots.

By November 2008, more than 98 percent of city restaurants had stopped using
artificial trans fats for cooking, frying and baking, researchers with the
city's health department report in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Trans fats have become notorious because they not only raise so-called "bad"
LDL cholesterol, as the saturated fats in animal products do, but also lower
levels of so-called "good" HDL cholesterol.

While some meats and dairy products naturally contain trans fat, most trans
fats in people's diet are artificial; they are formed when manufacturers add
hydrogen to vegetable oil to make it solidify.

These so-called partially hydrogenated oils were long a staple in processed
foods, like crackers, cookies and pastries, and widely used by restaurants in
cooking, frying and baking.

In 2006, before the health department ban, half of New York City's
restaurants were using trans fats. By November 2008, less than 2 percent were,
according to Dr. Sonia Y. Angell and her colleagues at the Department of
Health.

When the restriction was first adopted, the researchers note, some critics
claimed it was an Orwellian measure, while others worried that restaurants would
have a tough time finding suitable trans-fat replacements.

However, the transition has been smooth, Angell's team writes, asserting that
trans-fat restriction "is now a largely unnoticed part of New York City
life."

The researchers point out that food manufacturers have been quick to market
trans-fat-free shortenings and other products, making the transition easier for
restaurants. In general, they say, city restaurants report that the change has
been "cost neutral."

Since New York's measure passed, more than a dozen jurisdictions, including
California, have adopted similar laws, and many national restaurant chains have
cut trans fats from their menus, Angell's team notes.

Ridding the food supply of trans fats, the researchers write, could
potentially improve the cholesterol levels of millions of people.

SOURCE: Annals of Internal Medicine, July 21, 2009.