December 06, 2006
NYC OKs trans fat ban; healthiness enforced July 1
The New York City Board of Health on Tuesday unanimously ordered restaurants to stop cooking with unhealthy trans fats starting July 1 for some foods, or July 2008 for things such as doughnuts and cakes, which will be harder to prepare without the partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.
Inspectors will roam restaurants to check the packaging of ingredients but prepared food would not be routinely tested, according to the New York Times. Fines would be at least $200.
New York magazine's Grub Street blog awhile back rounded up a number of restaurants likley at risk, including The City Bakery for its chocolate tart, The Pink Tea Cup's fried chicken and the Arepa Lady's arepas.
The Health Dept. also adopted a confusing rule that would require some eateries to post calorie counts for its menu items.
The Daily News explains: There is a big loophole in the calorie disclosure rule: It applies only to restaurants that provide nutritional information after March 1, 2007. That means restaurants that currently provide that information could stop on March 1 and not have to comply.
Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said he was aware of the loophole and would "look at other means of ensuring that information remained in the public domain." The city's intent is to fight obesity and heart disease, but restaurant owners are ticked off, and planty of others are just ticked off about once again being told how to live. Manhattan User's Guide, for example, recently railed about the city's increasing conversion into Nannyhattan.
Although the Eater food blog notes that the recent pull back on new liquor licenses may be heading for a thaw.
December 6, 2006 07:14 AM in Foodology
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