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New York City Bans Trans Fats in Restaurants

December 5, 2006

Trans Fats • Court Rebuffs Burger King in Trans Fat Case • Dunkin’ Donuts to Dump the Trans Fat • Burger King Hit With Trans Fat Lawsuit • KFC Removes Trans Fat From Chicken Fryers • Harvard Study Links Trans Fat To Heart Disease • Burger King Testing Trans Fat-Free Cooking Oils • Starbucks Cuts Trans Fats • Scientists Claim Development Of "Healthy" Trans Fat • Loews Hotels Ban Trans Fat from Menus • New York City Bans Trans Fats in Restaurants • KFC Plans To Cut The Trans Fat • New York City Considers Trans Fat Ban • Researchers: Food Labels Should List All Fats • KFC Sued Over Artery-Clogging Oils • Wendy's Cuts Trans Fats in Fries and Chicken --- • More ...

By a unanimous vote of its board of health, New York City today became the first city in the nation to ban artery-clogging artificial trans fats at restaurants. Many restaurants will also have to list calorie information on menus or menu boards.

Restaurants have until July to stop using frying oils containing artificial trans fats. The board gave restaurants a slight break by giving them until July 2008 to eliminate trans fats from all foods.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who banned smoking in bars and restaurants during his first term, dismissed critics who said the city was going too far. He said the city was not trying to tell people what to eat, merely requiring that the safest preparation methods be used.

Consumer advocates cheered the city's action and urged major restaurant chains to adopt the changes nationwide.

"If trans-fat labeling in the supermarket was the beginning of the end of trans fat, New York's move today is the middle of the end of trans fat," said Michael F. Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "When New York City's major chain restaurants comply with these sensible new regulations, I hope they make the changes nationwide."

Calorie Counting

The board of health also passed a measure that requires restaurants to inform customers about calorie content. The rule generally applies to fast-food restaurants and other major chains.

"The calorie-labeling regulation approved by the board today will be of enormous help to weight-conscious New Yorkers. Many the big chains already have this information, but many of them only put it on web sites or brochures," Jacobson said.

"There is no practical reason why chains can't include calories right next to the price of the item on menus and menu boards. Most of the industry's arguments against calorie labeling are simply red herrings," Jacobson said. "The regulations will not apply to daily specials and non-standardized items. Calorie labeling will put consumers back in the driver's seat and let them exercise personal responsibility for themselves and their children."

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