New York bans trans-fats


New York bans trans-fats
Wed Jul 2, 2008 2:52am EDT
By Edith Honan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - One New York City chef spent a year mastering a
trans-fat-free version of his sfogliatella pastries. Boston Market
restaurants have introduced a trans-fat-free chicken pot pie in New
York before taking it to other U.S. cities.

All that work was in preparation for New York City's ban on trans-fats
in restaurants, which took full effect on Tuesday, and is the first of
its kind among major U.S. cities. The move follows the city's 2003 ban
on public smoking.

Artificial trans-fats give french fries their crunch and pie crusts
their flakiness and chefs have been figuring out how it was done
before trans-fats came into wide use during World War II, when
margarine became a substitute for rationed butter and Crisco became a
staple in U.S. kitchens.

Artificial trans-fats, which also are known as partially hydrogenated
vegetable oil, have just as many calories as other fats but clog
arteries in the same way that saturated fats like butter and lard do.

A year ago, New York restaurants were banned from using the artery-
clogging fats in cooking oils and spreads. On Tuesday, all trans-fat
products were banned, although the city will allow a grace period
before issuing fines up to $2,000.

Laura Stanley, a former senior editor for Martha Stewart Living
Omnimedia who heads the city's Trans-Fat Help Center, a clinic to help
restaurants make the transition, said there had been complaints from
bakeries and restaurants about trans-fat-free cookies turning out too
crisp. It was nothing that could not be fixed with a little adjustment
in baking time, she said.

"I don't want to be cavalier and say that it's solved. But I'm really,
really optimistic," said Stanley, who has led a series of seminars to
educate cooks about trans-fats and posted tips on a city Web site,
Notransfatnyc.org.

Dunkin' Donuts, Burger King (BKC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock
Buzz), and McDonalds Corp. (MCD.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock
Buzz), as well as KFC and Pizza Hut, which are both owned by Yum!
Brands Inc. (YUM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), all say
that they have eliminated trans-fats from their New York restaurants,
and they are on track to do the same across the country.

At Pizza Hut, that meant altering the recipe of its Thin 'n Crispy and
Hand-Tossed Style Pizza, a spokesman said.

Boston Market eliminated trans-fats from its fried chicken nationwide
and is using New York as a test case for a new crust for its chicken
pot pie, said spokeswoman Angela Proctor.

"The reason that people use partially hydrogenated vegetable oil to
begin with is that ... it gives you a lot more flexibility," Proctor
said. "You get a very fluffy, flaky pastry crust. You get one that
doesn't break down as quickly."

City officials say a new generation of trans-fat-free alternatives
came at the right moment.

"It involved the restaurants calling up their suppliers and saying,
'Please send me the trans-fat-free version of these oils and
spreads,'" said New York City health commissioner Thomas Frieden, a
leading proponent of the ban.

The help center recommends shortenings derived from palm, canola and
soybean oils.

Owners at smaller eateries said they supported the ban if it meant
healthier food but they had reservations, too.

Rocco Generoso, the second-generation owner of Rocco's Pastry Shop and
Cafe, an Italian pastry shop in Greenwich Village, said trans-fat-free
shortening did not hold up in warm weather.

"It's not easy to maintain the same quality with these products," he
said. It took a year to perfect his sfogliatella -- a multi-layered
pastry filled with sweet ricotta cheese -- because the dough would
melt in his hand.

In Little Italy's Caffe Palermo, owner John Delutro changed his
cannoli recipe but said customers did not seem to notice.

City Councilman Tony Avella, who opposes the ban, joked that a ban on
salt was next.

"The city is going way over the top in terms of dictating what people
can't do and can't eat," he said.


© Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved.

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUKGRI22462520080702
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