NYC BOARD BANS TRANS FATS AT RESTAURANTS

The Board of Health in New York City voted unanimously to ban artery-clogging trans fats at restaurants. The ban will go into effect in July of 2007, at first eliminating trans fats only from cooking oils, then in July of 2008 the full ban eliminating trans fats from all foods will begin. From the AP article at Yahoo!:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who banned smoking in bars and restaurants during his first term, 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."

Chicago is also considering its own trans fat law, which wouldn't ban the fats 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.

Here is a pie chart from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that shows the major sources of trans fat for American adults: