California bans trans fats in restaurants

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Wednesday, August 06, 2008

This story has been in the news a lot recently, and I've seen some discussion about it on the Message Boards. So I thought we could get a conversation going about it here!

A few weeks ago, California passed legislation that bans restaurants and other retail food establishments from using oil, margarine and shorting containing trans fats in the foods they sell. Although there are some other cities in the U.S. that have similar laws, this is the first state-wide legislation of its kind.

Although it will be a few years before the law takes effect, many restaurants have already been phasing out trans fats to satisfy their customers.

What are trans fats and why are they such a big deal? Trans fats are oils that have been chemically-altered (through a process called hydrogenation) from their original liquid states, into solid shortening. The process increases the shelf life of the oil and improves the texture of the food to which the oil is added. However, trans fats increase your risk of heart disease, clogging arteries and lowering your good cholesterol. You can read more about them here:

Translating those Trans Fats

So what do you think? Is it the job of individual states to be making these kinds of laws, or should regulations be coming from somewhere like the Food and Drug Administration? Is it the job of government to decide what we should and shouldn't be eating?

Let me know your thoughts!

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Member Comments About This Blog Post:

SHININGTHRU126 8/19/2009 12:51PM

Rather than ban trans-fats why not just stop producing them altogether? Didn't this madness start @ 30 years ago or so? We all lived without them before, we can live without them again.

NAENAE1213 8/19/2009 12:41PM

I prefer free will. If I choose to eat poor choices...that's MY choice. I don't like anyone telling me what I can and cannot eat. I'm a dietitian. I teach this stuff daily. Yes, trans fats are bad. But, water can be bad if you drink too much of it. People need to take a little responsibility for their own actions rather than looking for someone else to blame.

KGPOSSIBLE 12/20/2008 11:37AM

NEVERGIVEUP - You hit the nail on the head....in 20 years the Government or medicine will be publishing something saying oops we made a mistake trans fats are actually healthy for you.....do you really think banning trans fat is going to make people change their eating habits? Eating habits come from within. The message I am seeing now is go ahead and eat all the french fries you want because they don't have trans fat! The're healthy!! Is that the right message...a few years ago it was "fat free" and everybody ate twice as much....well we know what happened.....education...not government intervention is where our energy should be spent. Anything in moderation is fine...it's overeating and lack of exercise that is the problem. Not trans fat! I am a perfect example of that statement!

Comment edited on: 12/20/2008 11:37:40 AM

MARTYRED4LOVE 8/18/2008 4:59PM

I may be out of line here, but hasn't the government always dictated what we can and can't consume? Isn't the FDA a part of the government? And is it not their job to make sure we don't consume stuff that is complete cr*p? It would be one thing if they were banning healthy foods and ingredients (I wouldn't doubt if they had/do) but really, does anyone NEED those trans fats? I don't get why people are upset about the idea of the government doing something GOOD for our health.

MYTHICALANGEL 8/16/2008 11:08PM

What is there to say you hit the nail on the head...way to go

GREGOIREDIET 8/16/2008 12:27AM

Hi Jen

to manage the health of a population is so hard, we can't limit our approach at public health messages to the population,
also the influence of the advertising is very strong,
in France most of nutritionnists are jealous of this law against the trans acid fats, we want the same ;-)

I desagree with the opinion which supports that each person has to make his own choice and to be 100% responsible of himself...
This would mean that obeses or patients with high cholesterol rate are responsible of their illness but the largest part of the doctors, the psychology and the sociology... supports that these patients are not really responsible of their illness but are, for a large part of it, victims of the environment.

NEVERGIVEUP 8/15/2008 5:06PM

You said it. "Everything in moderation". Agreed. But the government making these foods unavailable!!! Telling me what I can or cannot eat??? Trying to save people from themselves only restricts our freedom more and more. It is about education not more government regulation. I thought this was supposed to be a free country. How far will it go??

MZSLEEPE1 8/15/2008 12:40PM

Ignorance is bliss! YOU ON A DIET, Dr. Oz! The book that will explain what lard and hydrogenated fats do to your body! The book is loaded with infomation! People usually are not informed about what they are eating, we live on auto-pilot. If they were really informed they wouldn't put any processed crap in their bodies. They would go organic and try to understand the concept that most people are ignorant when it comes to nutrition. I didn't say dumb. But they just aren't informed. No one is saying that eating a donut made with lard is going to kill you instantly but if you eat stuff like that everyday of your life, well... It's just common sense. Everything in moderation and fresh, whole foods are best. The least amount of ingredients possible. If it has more than 5 things in it, what are they and do you want to feed that to your family? Broccoli, carrots, green beans and so on. You see what I'm saying. Those are really good foods if they aren't sprayed with pesticides! But again, ignorance is bliss... Have a great day and be good to yourself!!

NEVERGIVEUP 8/15/2008 12:13PM

California is NUTS! When I was a girl, my grandmother made donuts with LARD. (Best donuts you ever tasted). When the saturated fats became associated with heart disease, we all switched to the hydrogenated vegetable oils (like Crisco) and now these are bad. I also remember when eggs were considered the worst thing on the planet, now they're considered healthy (in reasonable amounts). I don't want the government telling me what I can and cannot eat. I also don't want the government telling a chef to eliminate any ingredient from a food that you might eat once a year! Come on!! Labels fine, the rest of this stuff is nonsense!

PSC21257 8/14/2008 1:43AM

South Carolina is doing it to. It is really great!