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Digital News Report – Several laws took effect in California on January 1st 2010. One law bans trans-fats in restaurants with fines from $25 to $1,000 for a violation. In 2011 trans fats used in deep fried yeast dough and cake batter will be banned as well.
Trans fats are partially hydrogenated oil which have extra hydrogen atoms added, usually by heating and other processes. These non-essential fats do not promote good health and increases the risk for coronary heart disease.
California joins several cities including New York City, Seattle, Philadelphia and parts of Maryland in banning these oils in restaurants. This is the first time a state has banned trans fats.
By: Jason Chang
Good for California! I rarely eat out in restaurants anymore because it is increasingly clear that even salads in restaurants can be filled with unhealthful ingredients such as trans fats. NY Times recently had an article about meat scraps formerly used in dog food that are now being treated with ammonia then used in hamburgers in fast food restaurants and school lunch programs. Without regulation, it’s all just about making a buck off you and your family regardless of the consequences to your health.
We’ve known for over 2 decades that trans fat is as detrimental to your health as smoking, and yet the powerful food lobbies have been successful in corrupting government regulation to say that “as long as a single food contains less than .5mg of trans fat”, the law allows manufacturers to state the product contains “0 grams trans fat.” Problem, a “serving” could be as small as 2 crackers, or one cookie, and realistically, no one eats only one serving. So, what happens is consumers are still buying foods that contain dangerous hydrogenated fats because their labels legally say “zero grams trans fat”
When it comes to restaurants, especially the fast food chains, consumers really have no idea what’s in the food they’re consuming.