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Ban on trans fats seals New York's tough reputation
By Andrew Ward and Christopher Grimes
Updated: 8:42 p.m. CT Dec 8, 2006
To his supporters, he is a hero destined to prevent hundreds and possibly thousands of premature deaths each year. To his foes, he is an out-of-control bureaucrat trying to dictate what people eat.
Thomas Frieden, activist commissioner of the New York City Department of Health, claimed victory this week in his two-year fight to ban trans fat from restaurants.
The trans fat ban, which followed Dr Frieden's successful (and controversial) drive to banish smoking from New York bars and restaurants in 2003, has cemented the city's reputation as a testing ground for aggressive public health policy.
His policy will give the city's 24,000 eating places – ranging from Michelin-starred establishments in Manhattan to neighbourhood diners in Brooklyn – six months to stop frying food in oils containing trans fats, which are believed to contribute to heart disease. (They have 18 months to eliminate the fats from baked goods.)
The trans fat debate has brought out the inner libertarian in some New Yorkers, who say Dr Frieden has gone too far this time. Unlike smoking, which harms others through secondhand smoke, eating french fries or pastries containing trans fats harms no one but the diner, they say. And they have challenged the city's right to regulate what New York diners consume.
However, the health department counters that trans fats were no different from lead paint, asbestos and other dangerous substances that it has regulated for years.
Other cities are likely to follow suit, just as dozens of governments around the world followed New York's tough stance on tobacco.
Walter Willett, chairman of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard University School of Public Health, says fast food chains have been slow to tackle the trans fat issue but are taking it more seriously since New York acted.
New York's ban will prove to be a "tipping point", he says. "Once a couple of big cities ban trans fats the big food companies and restaurants will have to remove them nationwide because they cannot afford to have different supplies for different places."
Trans fats – formed when liquid oils are turned into solid fats by adding hydrogen – provide about 2 per cent of calories in the US diet, according to Mr Willett. A nationwide ban could reduce heart disease by 20-25 per cent, he says. New York's action alone would save 500 lives a year, based on the most conservative estimates, and the true figure could run into thousands.
The National Restaurant Association shares New York's desire to phase out trans fats but warns of the "challenges and unintended consequences" of enforcing a ban so quickly. "This is a table-to-farm issue," it says, in a statement. "It takes time to develop, plant, grow, harvest and produce new alternative crops and to test new oils. Because of this supply problem, with such a limited timetable, many of the city's restaurants will have no choice but to switch to oils high in [unhealthy] saturated fats."
The group, which represents nearly 1m US restaurants, also voices doubts about the legality of a municipal health agency banning an ingredient the US Food and Drug Administration has approved.
McDonald's has vowed to comply with New York's ban and continue efforts to reduce and, where possible, eliminate trans fats from its menu nationwide. The chain says it has been testing alternative oil blends for five years but has yet to find one that meets quality and taste standards. "We're very encouraged by the results of those tests," it says, in a statement. "However, we are not yet prepared to announce a national rollout."
Junior's, a New York restaurant famous for its decadent cheesecakes, voluntarily switched its cooking oils a year ago. Alan Rosen, whose family has owned the restaurant for three generations, says the switch was mostly painless.
"We did some taste testing on french fries and fried chicken, and we really couldn't tell a difference," he says. The new cooking oils are "slightly more costly, but for a company with three restaurants in New York [the cost] isn't a big deal."
Junior's still has not figured out how to make a layer cake without using trans fats, but Mr Rosen is optimistic that he will find suitable substitutes. "Where the ban becomes more problematic is with desserts," he says. "There's obviously a lot of anticipation in the marketplace, so I'm sure some great ingredients will come out soon."
Ban on trans fats seals New York's tough reputation - Financial Times - MSNBC.com
By Andrew Ward and Christopher Grimes
Updated: 8:42 p.m. CT Dec 8, 2006
To his supporters, he is a hero destined to prevent hundreds and possibly thousands of premature deaths each year. To his foes, he is an out-of-control bureaucrat trying to dictate what people eat.
Thomas Frieden, activist commissioner of the New York City Department of Health, claimed victory this week in his two-year fight to ban trans fat from restaurants.
The trans fat ban, which followed Dr Frieden's successful (and controversial) drive to banish smoking from New York bars and restaurants in 2003, has cemented the city's reputation as a testing ground for aggressive public health policy.
His policy will give the city's 24,000 eating places – ranging from Michelin-starred establishments in Manhattan to neighbourhood diners in Brooklyn – six months to stop frying food in oils containing trans fats, which are believed to contribute to heart disease. (They have 18 months to eliminate the fats from baked goods.)
The trans fat debate has brought out the inner libertarian in some New Yorkers, who say Dr Frieden has gone too far this time. Unlike smoking, which harms others through secondhand smoke, eating french fries or pastries containing trans fats harms no one but the diner, they say. And they have challenged the city's right to regulate what New York diners consume.
However, the health department counters that trans fats were no different from lead paint, asbestos and other dangerous substances that it has regulated for years.
Other cities are likely to follow suit, just as dozens of governments around the world followed New York's tough stance on tobacco.
Walter Willett, chairman of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard University School of Public Health, says fast food chains have been slow to tackle the trans fat issue but are taking it more seriously since New York acted.
New York's ban will prove to be a "tipping point", he says. "Once a couple of big cities ban trans fats the big food companies and restaurants will have to remove them nationwide because they cannot afford to have different supplies for different places."
Trans fats – formed when liquid oils are turned into solid fats by adding hydrogen – provide about 2 per cent of calories in the US diet, according to Mr Willett. A nationwide ban could reduce heart disease by 20-25 per cent, he says. New York's action alone would save 500 lives a year, based on the most conservative estimates, and the true figure could run into thousands.
The National Restaurant Association shares New York's desire to phase out trans fats but warns of the "challenges and unintended consequences" of enforcing a ban so quickly. "This is a table-to-farm issue," it says, in a statement. "It takes time to develop, plant, grow, harvest and produce new alternative crops and to test new oils. Because of this supply problem, with such a limited timetable, many of the city's restaurants will have no choice but to switch to oils high in [unhealthy] saturated fats."
The group, which represents nearly 1m US restaurants, also voices doubts about the legality of a municipal health agency banning an ingredient the US Food and Drug Administration has approved.
McDonald's has vowed to comply with New York's ban and continue efforts to reduce and, where possible, eliminate trans fats from its menu nationwide. The chain says it has been testing alternative oil blends for five years but has yet to find one that meets quality and taste standards. "We're very encouraged by the results of those tests," it says, in a statement. "However, we are not yet prepared to announce a national rollout."
Junior's, a New York restaurant famous for its decadent cheesecakes, voluntarily switched its cooking oils a year ago. Alan Rosen, whose family has owned the restaurant for three generations, says the switch was mostly painless.
"We did some taste testing on french fries and fried chicken, and we really couldn't tell a difference," he says. The new cooking oils are "slightly more costly, but for a company with three restaurants in New York [the cost] isn't a big deal."
Junior's still has not figured out how to make a layer cake without using trans fats, but Mr Rosen is optimistic that he will find suitable substitutes. "Where the ban becomes more problematic is with desserts," he says. "There's obviously a lot of anticipation in the marketplace, so I'm sure some great ingredients will come out soon."
Ban on trans fats seals New York's tough reputation - Financial Times - MSNBC.com
