by Playfuls Staff |
6th December 2006
The New York Board of Health has officially and unanimously outlawed artificial trans fats in restaurants.
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New Yorkers might just get healthier, now that trans fat will be eliminated from food served in restaurants. Trans fatty acids have no positive impact on a person’s health whatsoever. On the contrary, this type of unsaturated fat can contribute to the onset of coronary heart disease; it leads to obesity and its palette of related diseases and to liver dysfunction. There’s no scientific consensus yet over the theory that trans fats could increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes or cancer.
However, it is a fact that over 50 per cent of New York’s population is either overweight or obese – and trans fats are considered a major factor in this health situation.
Several fast food chains in the US have already changed to trans fat-free menus and the ban aims to eliminate trans fat from all foods in New York eateries by July 2008. Thomas Frieden, New York City Commissioner of Health, said: “We need to get this artificial substance out of our food supply. You've already seen McDonald's, KFC, Arby's, Wendy's, a variety of national chains saying they've made significant progress in this area and I think all New Yorkers should be proud of the fact that we're really in the lead in insuring food safety.”
There is concern though that this will be a lengthy process.
Sheila Weiss, Director of Nutrition Policy for the National Restaurant Association, has commented on the effort some restaurants have put into eliminating trans fats from their menus and how time-consuming this has been: “There has been shown to be a great lack of supply, and it will take restaurants, it has taken restaurants that have changed two to three years to find alternatives and the time limit that has been placed here is unrealistic for a lot of our restaurants.”
New York is the first city in the nation to take these extreme health measures against trans fats. The deadline is July 1, 2007, for frying oils containing trans fats and July 1, 2008 for all foods containing the harmful substance.
Restaurant owners are complaining though that this is too short a period for such a major change and that people need to be informed and educated about the health threats trans fats pose.
“We didn't get any information from the Health Department,” said Willie Giraldo, manager of the Azucar Cuban restaurant. “You've got to inform the people and educate the people because many of the Latin restaurants, they don't know anything about what trans fat is. They use the oil that's cheaper for the business.”
What we all need to know is that trans fats are not beneficial to our general well-being. And most of us already know that we want to live long and healthy lives.
