The city's health department urged all restaurants in the city Wednesday to stop serving food containing trans fats, according to a report in The New York Times.
Trans fats, which are prominent in foods like cookies and French fries, are chemically modified ingredients that can be found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, the report said. The Times, citing health officials, said the fats increase the risk of heart disease and should not be part of any healthy diet.
"To help combat heart disease, the No. 1 killer in New York City, we are asking restaurants to voluntarily make an oil change and remove artificial trans fat from their kitchens," Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the city's health commissioner, told the newspaper.
Three decades ago trans fats were promoted as a healthy alternative to saturated fats like butter, according to the newspaper, but today, most experts agree they are the most dangerous type of fat in America.
A survey by the health department's food inspectors found that from 30 to 60 percent of the city's 20,000 restaurants use partially hydrogenated oil in food preparation, the Times reported. That means thousands of cooks and chefs might need to change their cooking and purchasing habits to meet the request, the newspaper said.
The health department will not seek to ban the ingredient outright, but it has begun a campaign to educate restaurateurs, their suppliers and the public about trans fats, according to the Times.
Three decades ago trans fats were promoted as a healthy alternative to saturated fats like butter, according to the newspaper, but today, most experts agree they are the most dangerous type of fat in America.
kinda ironic aint it. We spend our lives listening to experts...
not that im sold on the alternatives whatever they are.
"Liberty, what crimes are committed in your name."
