Jan 30, 2007 4:10 pm US/Pacific
L.A. Restaurants Asked To Stop Using Trans Fat
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
Los Angeles County's 34,000 restaurants will be encouraged over the next 18 months to stop using trans fat under an incentive program announced Tuesday by city and county officials.
Under the program, Los Angeles County restaurants that voluntarily stop using the partially hydrogenated oil will receive a decal that can be posted at the establishment based on certification by the Health Department.
Health officials also plan to convene a task force to educate the public on the harmful effects of the substance, and instruct eateries in county buildings to limit the trans fat in food.
County officials had hoped to regulate whether eateries use trans fat, but a report by the Department of Public Health found only the state can regulate what eateries cook with.
"We have to protect the citizens of Los Angeles County," Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke said. "They depend upon our public health facilities, they depend upon our ability to look at restaurants to make sure those restaurants are clean, but they also depend on us to develop the kind of guidelines that will ensure that when you go into a facility ... you know what you're buying."
The Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to support the voluntary effort, as did the Los Angeles City Council.
"Trans fats are bad for us and they can and should be eliminated from our food," Councilman Jose Huizar said. "Scientific and health communities agree that trans fats are toxic. In fact, we know they contribute to high levels of bad cholesterol and low levels of good cholesterol."
Trans fat, often found in margarine, shortenings, baked goods and fried foods, is believed to increase the risk of coronary heart disease. It is also thought to increase a person's level of bad cholesterol.
Butter and natural oils, such as soy, corn, peanut and olive, do not contain trans fat.
Trans fat intake contributes to 30,000 heart disease-related deaths in the United States every year, according to public health director Dr. Jonathan Fielding.
Replacing trans fat with another oil will not reduce the number of calories or fat in food, Fielding said.
"This will have no impact on the greatest epidemic we have in Los Angeles County -- overweight and obesity," Fielding said. "What we're talking about with trans fat is substituting one fat for another and this really needs to be the beginning of a dialogue with consumers about reducing fat overall."
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