As a part of a nationwide campaign to ban the distribution of foods prepared with trans fats, Illinois may become the second state to prohibit the unhealthy type of fat from reaching the mouths of state citizens.
Illinois House Bill 1600, sponsored by state Reps. La Shawn K. Ford (D-Chicago) and Monique Davis (D-Chicago), passed the state House last month with a vote of 73-43. If the bill passes state Senate and Gov. Pat Quinn signs it into action, restaurants, movie theaters and vending machines will all have to comply with the ban beginning Jan. 1, 2013.
The proposal sets different deadlines on the ban. Beginning July 1, “no oil, shortening, or margarine containing trans fat for use in spreads or frying, except for the deep frying of yeast dough or cake batter, may be stored, distributed, or served by a food facility or used in the preparation of food within a food facility.” And on July 1 of next year the ban will also include “the deep frying of yeast dough or cake batter.”
Northwestern campus dietitian Theresa Laurenz said cutting out trans fats makes for a great first step because trans fats are a man-made type of fat.
“Science directly changed the oils to hydrogenate them so they could last longer on the shelf,” Laurenz said. “And when they found out that these particular fats are very harmful for our health where they increase our bad cholesterol and decrease our good cholesterol, it made a very clear choice that it is something that we don’t need, and we really should cut out.”
Trans fats, also referred to as “partially hydrogenated oils,” are created by adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid. Trans fats raise bad cholesterol levels and increase the risk of developing heart disease and stroke. Laurenz said she’s doubtful of how much cutting out trans fats will drastically affect the average person’s diet.
“Ultimately our diets are still very highly calorically based, and we don’t necessarily move as much as we should,” she said. “So until those two things are really changed, people will probably still choose unhealthy things and still over consume on calories which causes a lot of health issues.”
Sheila O’Grady, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association, disagrees with legislators saying restaurants have long been void of trans fats in their cooking oils and voluntarily stopped using trans fat products.
“Restaurant operators have understood for a long time that consumers do not want their food cooked in trans fat oils,” O’Grady said in an email. “In fact, in polling our members, we could not find a single operator still using trans fat oils today.”
Dean Holden, general manager at Buffalo Joe’s in Evanston, 812 Clark St., said he’s been prepared for a bill like this ever since 2007, when New York became the first city in the country to ban restaurants from using artificial trans fats. He said for his store, complying with the bill would just be a matter of switching to an already-tested non-trans fat cooking oil.
“I can make a quick switch in a matter of a couple of days,” Holden said. “When New York was doing them for all the Dunkin’ Donuts, Chicago got ready to follow suit, so I had to gear up for our Chicago store. If the bill passes, I’ll just follow their guidelines.”
However, there are some exemptions currently in place. Bakeries who rely heavily on trans fats in the making of pie crusts, cookies and cakes have an extra year beyond the July 1 deadline to remove trans fats from their recipes.
School cafeterias also received exemption this year, as legislators feared budget cuts would make it difficult for schools to make the required changes in their menu offerings. Laurenz felt this move was inappropriate if the state really hopes to make a statewide change.
“I don’t really think that’s an excuse for cutting it out just for schools because if you’re going to do it for the whole state, then you’re pushing the manufacturing-production side to just change it in general,” she said. “Not just saying that one of your biggest clients, schools, will still buy your foods and products that have trans fat in it.”
Communication sophomore Melanie Gertzman agreed the bill may be invading state residents’ private choices.
“Telling people what they can and cannot put in their bodies is a bit presumptuous,” Gertzman said. “If people are still allowed to buy cigarettes and alcohol, they should still have the same type of warning for trans fats, not necessarily ban them.”
