SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California began forbidding restaurants from cooking with trans fat beginning New Year’s Day, becoming the first state to crack down on the substance tied to clogged arteries, strokes and coronary heart disease.
The ban is hailed by supporters as a way to protect diners who routinely have not been aware of consuming trans fat at some restaurants because they don’t see the meals cooked or the ingredients used.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the measure in 2008, but it will take effect Friday because restaurants were given a one-year adjustment period. Bakeries need not comply until January 2011.
Trans fat is created when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil, a process called hydrogenation meant to improve the shelf life and enhance the flavor of foods.
The process turns liquid oils into solid fats, such as shortening or stick margarine, which have been used in French fries, baked goods, crackers, candies, snack foods, fried foods and other items.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not restrict trans fat but says it can increase the risk of coronary heart disease by raising low-density lipoprotein – or bad cholesterol.
“You kind of get a double whammy – your bad cholesterol increases and your good cholesterol decreases,” said Dr. Diane Sobkowicz, a cardiologist who directs the Women’s Heart Program for the Sutter Heart and Vascular Institute.
The American Heart Association recommends limiting trans fat to less than 1 percent of total calories consumed daily.
Responding to health concerns, many restaurants had been reducing or eliminating trans fats even before passage the bill last year.
The New Year’s Day deadline poses no major problem, said Daniel Conway, spokesman for the California Restaurant Association.
“This was an ingredient that was already being phased out, for the most part,” he said. “I think most restaurants have had adequate time to comply.”
McDonald’s, Burger King, Rubio’s and KFC, also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, are among fast-food chains that do not cook with trans fats, officials said.
Larry Rusinko, Rubio’s spokesman, said the firm made the change long ago without raising prices or sacrificing taste.
“We chose the zero-trans-fat canola oil because we thought it actually enhanced the flavour and quality of our products,” he said.
KFC spokeswoman Laurie Schalow said the company chose a soybean-oil blend as a substitute and “we had it in stores for months and months and no one noticed.”
Members of the chain’s franchise board conducted an internal taste test on the old and new oils. “It was like, half picked one, half picked the other – they couldn’t tell the difference,” Schalow said.
California’s new ban on restaurant oils, margarines and shortenings containing more than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving will be monitored by routine restaurant inspections already conducted by local health departments. Violators can be fined up to $1,000.