NYC Bans Trans-Fats Starting 2008 in Restaurants

[Bronco_Beerslug]

Just announced on CNBC. Didn't hear all the details yet.

[alkemical]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=NYC+Bans+Trans-Fats&btnG=Google+Search

[Bronco_Beerslug]

Here it is....

-----------------------------------------
NYC health board votes to ban trans fats

By SARA KUGLER, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - 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 its foods by July 2008.




http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/net/20061205/capt.4f1f628ec56c2ff7b7d5d1f374664ae5.pjpeg?x=380&y=281&sig=PCrcCRwUhK9xE_ZErFOzlg--
**FILE PHOTO** Edward Patterson, a Kentucky Fried Chicken employee, chows down on some of the company's trans fat-free product in New York, Oct. 30, 2006. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)


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.
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 monthly 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 U.S. <form class="yqin" action="http://yq.search.yahoo.com/search" method="post"> <input name="p" value="&quot;Food and Drug Administration&quot;" type="hidden"> <input name="sourceOrder" value="c1,i,yn,c3" type="hidden"> <input name="c1" value="<p style=&quot;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;font-size:13px;padding:0;margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:.5em;&quot;>Food and Drug Administration</p>" type="hidden"> <input name="sourceURL" value="" type="hidden"> <input name="fr" value="yq-news" type="hidden"> <input name="context" value="Many food makers have stopped using trans fats on their own, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began requiring companies to list trans fat content on labels." type="hidden">Food and Drug Administration (http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=Food+and+Drug+Administration) began requiring companies to list trans fat content on labels.
</form> 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 <form class="yqin" action="http://yq.search.yahoo.com/search" method="post"> <input name="p" value="&quot;American Heart Association&quot;" type="hidden"> <input name="sourceOrder" value="c1,i,yn,c3" type="hidden"> <input name="c1" value="<p style=&quot;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;font-size:13px;padding:0;margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:.5em;&quot;>American Heart Association</p>" type="hidden"> [/URL]<input name="sourceURL" value="" type="hidden"> <input name="fr" value="yq-news" type="hidden"> <input name="context" value="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. ___ Associated Press writer David B. Caruso contributed to this report." type="hidden">American Heart Association (http://www.orangemane.com/BB/%22http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=%22American+Heart+Association%22&c=news_photos&fr=yqovly2%22) 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.
</form>
[URL]http://tinyurl.com/w8g2u

[bendog]

good.

[W*GS]

Dumb idea.

No pain, some gain
Nov 23rd 2006 | NEW YORK
From The Economist print edition

[b]New York's plan to ban certain fatty foods looks flawed[/b[

Is there a pain-free way to better health? Perhaps, if some enemies of trans fatty acids (TFAs), unhealthy fats which are often found in fried foods and baked goods, are to be believed. New York City's board of health is due to vote in early December on a proposal that would ban most artificial TFAs in restaurants, which would make it the first big city in America to impose such a prohibition. If it goes ahead, argues Michael Jacobson of the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, a health advocacy group, then “New Yorkers will enjoy improved health without needing to make any effort on their own.”

Trans fats are the latest target of health activists in rich countries today. Denmark has banned them, as has the hamlet of Tiburon, California. And now, Chicago, Cambridge and other American cities and towns are considering action, and watching New York carefully.

The reason for this trend is path-breaking research done by Harvard University's Walter Willett, which suggests that TFAs (which are mostly found in artificially-produced substances such as margarine and partially-hydrogenated cooking oils) increase insulin resistance and heart disease. Dr Willett reckons they lead to perhaps 50,000 premature deaths each year. The federal Food and Drug Administration, however, has not yet been persuaded by Dr Willett's research to impose a federal ban, so New York's officials are forging ahead on their own.

New York's proposal pleases activists, but is it sensible public policy? One potential snag is unintended consequences. The American Heart Association (hardly a yes-man for the food industry) notes that the phase-out may be too speedy: “If appropriate substitutes are not widely available in the food supply-chain, restaurants may substitute saturated fats, which are also strongly associated with the development of heart disease.” The New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA) adds that TFAs are common now in part because health officials had previously urged everyone to cut down on saturated fats. Some food activists blame TFAs for other diseases as well, but the evidence is less strong.

The city's approach is also somewhat arbitrary. Only artificial TFAs are banned, not those naturally found at low levels in milk or cheese; and packaged foods and home-cooked meals are completely exempt. Besides, because this is a municipal rather than a federal ordinance, it is bound to be leaky. New Yorkers craving an authentically unhealthy Dunkin' Donut or KFC biscuit can just cross the river to wild and woolly New Jersey.

Still, growing public awareness of the issue was already prompting both the federal government and the marketplace—both far better positioned to tackle the problem than one city's health board—to respond. Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat and the incoming head of the agriculture committee, has already made noises about federal curbs on TFAs. Even purveyors of greasy fast food, including Wendy's, KFC and McDonald's, now vow to phase them out voluntarily.

Perhaps the draconian approach to TFAs is not surprising, given New York's recent form. Smoking is banned in public places, as is using mobile phones when driving. But those vices involve clear externalities, like second-hand smoke and car crashes, that harm other people; gluttony does not. Charles Hunt of the NYSRA puts it this way: “Anything in excess is bad for you. What's next—bacon, ice cream?”

Copyright © 2006 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights reserved.

[bendog]

It's taking away our FREEDOMS!!!!

[epicSocialism4tw]

It's taking away our FREEDOMS!!!!

Yeah...the freedom of the food manufacturer that uses harmful ingredients.

[spdirty]

glad I don't live in New York. Love me some trans-fats.

[Hogan11]

NYC...home of the "for your own good" Safetyocracy ::)

If people were really, truly mindful of their health, they wouldn't go near anything deep fried to begin with. Oh well, just like with the smoking...if they're not smart enough to do it themselves, we'll do it for them, right Mayor Bloomberg?

[epicSocialism4tw]

NYC...home of the "for your own good" Safetyocracy ::)

If people were really, truly mindful of their health, they wouldn't go near anything deep fried to begin with. Oh well, just like with the smoking...if they're not smart enough to do it themselves, we'll do it for them, right Mayor Bloomberg?

Its about babysitting the manufacturer, not the consumer.

[Spider]

glad I don't live in New York. Love me some trans-fats.

Untill you get to be my age ;D
seriously though it isnt so much transfats as it is laziness in people ............

[Hogan11]

Its about babysitting the manufacturer, not the consumer.

It amounts to nothing more than a gesture....Bloomberg is great at that kinda thing. Another basically uninforceable law on the books....more wasted time and energy.

[baja]

Good - protect stupid people from themselves.

[Hogan11]

Good - protect stupid people from themselves.

Yeah, like this law is going to be effective in doing that Ha!

[baja]

Yeah, like this law is going to be effective in doing that Ha!

Maybe just maybe that law might cause a drop in expensive surgeries that attempt to correct maladies that simple preventive practices could avoid for free thus curbing runaway insurance costs for all.

[Hogan11]

Maybe just maybe that law might cause a drop in expensive surgeries that attempt to correct maladies that simple preventive practices could avoid for free thus curbing runaway insurance costs for all.

This is what Mock used to call "pollyanna"

[baja]

Many food additives have been banned because the had been found harmful to one's health now trans fats are added to the list call it what you like. I suggest you read the science about trans fats.

Here is one link;

http://www.school-for-champions.com/health/transfat.htm

google for many more.

[spdirty]

Many food additives have been banned because the had been found harmful to one's health now trans fats are added to the list call it what you like. I suggest you read the science about trans fats.

Here is one link;

http://www.school-for-champions.com/health/transfat.htm

google for many more.

People like you ruin the fun in life.

Just like the movie Grumpy Old Men, my grandpa ate bacon for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every damn day in his life...oh, and he smoked like a freight train. He lived to be 89.

My great uncle did what my grandpa did only he liked to drink whiskey every night. Died at the ripe ole age of 86.

You guys are gonna turn this country into San Angeles. Can't fart wrong without gettin cited.

[baja]

People like you ruin the fun in life.

Just like the movie Grumpy Old Men, my grandpa ate bacon for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every damn day in his life...oh, and he smoked like a freight train. He lived to be 89.

My great uncle did what my grandpa did only he liked to drink whiskey every night. Died at the ripe ole age of 86.

You guys are gonna turn this country into San Angeles. Can't fart wrong without gettin cited.

I your case I support you drinking a quart of trans fat daly.

Toss in 5 or 6 grams of MSG for flavor while your at it.

[spdirty]

I your case I support you drinking a quart of trans fat daly.

Toss in 5 or 6 grams of MSG for flavor while your at it.

And I'd still outlive your candy ass.:strong:

Hell I just got a damn case of food poisoning, didn't see me going to the doc. Just threw it up and crapped it all out, I'm fine now.

[baja]

There is something to be said for letting the stupid kill themselves with bad choices.

[spdirty]

There is something to be said for letting the stupid kill themselves with bad choices.

Like I said, Ill still outlive your ass.

[yavoon]

freedom is overrated anyway.

[yavoon]

Yeah...the freedom of the food manufacturer that uses harmful ingredients.

u dont consider that a freedom?

[loborugger]

(AP) NEW YORK - Fresh off successes in the so called "war on poverty", "war on crime", "war on drugs", and the "war on terror", the NYC government has identified a new enemy.
"We are here today to announce a new initiative. The war on fat," announced Mayor Bloomberg last week. "We expect many successes in this new war, just as we have succeeded in every other area."
When asked about recent successes in the war on terror, the Mayor stated, "Well, that is technically the Feds problem. However, I just announced an initiative that will eliminate all narcotics, %100, from the streets of NYC. We expect success just after my next re-election."
The mayor further stated, "Let it be known to all those low life scum bags dealing in Trans Fats. Your product is no longer welcome on the streets on NY. And we are also putting McDonalds, Krispy Kreme, and Cold Stone on notice. No stone will go unturned in our war on fat."
When the mayor was asked about this law violating such simple American concepts as privacy and personal accountability, he stated, "Look, people are just plain stupid. Afterall, they voted for me. They cant be trusted to look after themselves. Its much better that a government bureacracy be intrusted with your well-being than you. You just cant do it."
It is expected tomorrow that the mayor's office will announce a new tax bill to fund the one billion dollar "war on fat" that will include, "just eat veggies" billboards along with training and salaries of the new, 200 officer Fat Assistant Squad Countering Ingestion of Solid Transfats, or FASCISTs for short.
In related news, it was noted that unknown investors from the Cali, Colombia area are buying up restaurants in the NYC area, promising to provide "tasty and delightful meals for the discriminating eater."

[bendog]

Actually NYC has been pretty effective in the war on crime, at least compared to the 1970s ... though they used gun control and mandatory enhanced sentencing.

The logic of being against a ban of something that has no dietary/flavor benefits - besides shelf life - and is know to increse "bad" cholesterol is beyond me. I mean, I love restaurants where the guy next to me is chain smoking.

[W*GS]

Actually NYC has been pretty effective in the war on crime, at least compared to the 1970s ... though they used gun control and mandatory enhanced sentencing.

The gun control NYC has didn't have that much influence on the reduction in crime there relative to the 1970s. Other factors were much stronger. There's been plenty written about it.

The logic of being against a ban of something that has no dietary/flavor benefits - besides shelf life - and is know to increse "bad" cholesterol is beyond me.

Howzabout each of us gets to choose, instead of the State dictating to us what's "good" and "bad".

I don't understand people who can't resist cookies, candy bars, and the like, but I certainly have no intention of telling them they can't eat that garbage.

[yavoon]

Actually NYC has been pretty effective in the war on crime, at least compared to the 1970s ... though they used gun control and mandatory enhanced sentencing.

The logic of being against a ban of something that has no dietary/flavor benefits - besides shelf life - and is know to increse "bad" cholesterol is beyond me. I mean, I love restaurants where the guy next to me is chain smoking.

in theory smoking harms u through second hand smoke. is there such a thing as being harmed through second hand eating? do u inhale the transfat? "man I was next to this guy eating a halfpound burger, I think I gained some weight."

[bendog]

I think you should both go on a deserted island and see which one of you kills the other first. And we should televise it.

[bendog]

And wags, your just a bitch for trying to tip toe like a bull dyke around the war on crime, LOL

[W*GS]

Actually, there should be a new reality show with bendog in the gulag, called "Now I'm Lying in the Pile of **** I Created".