PrintNew York Trans-Fat Ban Kicks in Full Gear Tomorrow
Starting tomorrow, New York City's ban on trans fat will take full effect. With it, the Big Apple will become the first city in the U.S. to adhere to such a rule. Fast food places were hit the hardest when the ban was initially implemented last year, but now it will extend to prepared food in restaurants, bakeries, salad bars, cafeterias and food carts. A three-month grace period will be allowed, and violators will face a fine starting at $2,000 starting October.
What's interesting about this is that it essentially changes the nature of what we find delicious in New York City. Local bakers and pastry-makers have been monkeying with their recipes to replace the now-verboten fat, and:
"There is a little difference in taste," acknowledged Mauricio Vasquez, general manager of Ariola Foods, which has been turning out pastries in Queens for 85 years. But, he added, "If you weren't familiar with the [cannoli] shell beforehand, you'd never know the difference."
And just as California cities led the way with smoking bans in the '90s, I think it's safe to say that other U.S. cities will be looking to Gotham as a testing ground for banning trans fats. The cannoli (pictured), among other treats, is being affected in New York, but how will Boston cream pies fare? What about Tastykakes in Philly? It's an interesting issue that's worth thinking about.
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4 Comments:
I have to think that new Yorks public health authorities have better things to do than monitor what fats we eat.
Like maybe attend to the rat problem.
Next they'll want to monitor calory intake, followed closely by carb consumption.
Trans fats are not a public health issue. An issue, yes, but not one for that office to take up its time with.
zak822 at 3:59PM on 06/30/08
Transfats have little or nothing to do with flavor. They are popular because they have a long shelf life and are easy to transport and store. There are no traditional foods that rely on transfats for their flavor. Transfats were substituted into those recipes for convenience or to save money.
rebeccablood at 4:01PM on 06/30/08
Some more information from Wikipedia:
So, yes, it is a health risk - even saturated fats (animal fat and delicious, delicious butter, for example) are better for you than these artificially made products.
rebeccablood at 4:10PM on 06/30/08
Trans fats are a health issue, but banning them is silly. Banning them isn't like banning smoking, which was done to protect employees and others impacted by second-hand smoke. Your neighbor at the next table gets no harmful runoff from your table if you order a trans fat laden dish. A better comparison would be banning the sale of trans fats to anyone under 18, ala cigarettes, which would prevent minors from being exposed to a health risk while allowing adults to make a harmful choice if they choose.
jakeludington at 5:35PM on 06/30/08