News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 27, 2007

BOSTON – As the Joint Committee on Public Health prepares to hear testimony on legislation banning the use of trans fats in Massachusetts restaurants, New York City is preparing to go trans-fat free at the beginning of the month. Roughly 1 in 4 heart events in the U.S. are caused by consuming trans fats, which raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol in the body.

 State Rep. Peter Koutoujian, House Chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Health, filed legislation in December calling for a trans fat ban after New York City announced its ban. He said he is encouraged by reports on how the transition to healthier cooking oils is proceeding there. The Joint Committee on Public Health has scheduled a hearing on the Massachusetts trans fat ban proposal for July 11.

 “From everything we’ve been hearing, the transition in New York City has been seamless,” said Koutoujian. “This is great news as we move forward in Massachusetts because we are going to be able to use of many of the technologies and strategies in New York to demonstrate how eliminating trans fats from restaurants is not only possible, but can be done without adversely affecting restaurants or food taste.”

 With 8.2 million residents and more than 20,000 restaurants, New York City has roughly 7,000 more restaurants than all of Massachusetts. Many restaurant chains, including Legal Seafoods, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and Au Bon Pain have already begun the process of reducing or eliminating the use of the trans fats in their food preparation.

 Several studies have linked trans fats, also known as partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, to coronary heart disease. Some suggest replacing trans fats with healthy alternatives can reduce coronary heart disease events by up to 23 percent.

 “There is an overwhelming amount of evidence out there revealing just how damaging trans fats are,” said Koutoujian. “We have an opportunity to vastly improve public health by directing restaurants to switch to healthier alternatives that will make the food dramatically healthier.”

 Under the proposed legislation, food service establishments would have to switch to healthier oils and other substances in food preparation. Restaurants would have one year to switch to oils, margarines and shortenings that contain less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. Foods sold in sealed packages by the manufacturer and sold directly to patrons at a restaurant, such as potato chips, would not be affected by the proposed law.

 FDA estimates that the average daily intake of trans fat in the U.S. population is about 5.8 grams or 2.6% of calories per day for individuals 20 years of age and older. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, trans fat is formed when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil to make a more solid fat like shortening or margarine.