Last summer, New York City was the first city in the country to go trans-fat-free. Then it posted calories on menus. Now, NYC’s health department is taking on salt. City officials are meeting with food makers and restaurants to talk about cutting down the amount of salt in common foods like soup, pasta sauce, salad dressing and bread. About three-fourths of the salt Americans eat comes from prepared and processed food, not from the salt shaker, and New York officials want the food industry to help cut back.

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Sugary soft drinks could cost you more if you’re in New York. Governor David Paterson is proposing an “obesity tax” of about 15 percent on non-diet drinks. For example, a Diet Coke might sell for a $1 while the same size bottle of regular Coke would be $1.15. Paterson says the tax would help close a budget deficit of $15 billion and improve the health of people living in New York.

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If you knew how many calories were in these French fries, would you still order them? Californians will now know a lot about calories in fries and plenty of other restaurant foods. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a new law Tuesday that requires restaurants with 20 or more locations in the state to post the calorie count of each menu item.

New York and Seattle have similar laws, but California is the first state in the country to do this. California was also the first state to ban restaurants from making food with trans fats.

The new California bill goes into full effect in 2011 – between now and then restaurant chains have to make brochures with nutrition information available in their restaurants.

This summer, we told you about a study that shows if calorie counts were posted on menus, it helps people make healthier choices… or order smaller portions. Would it help you? Or do you think this will make us overly obsessed with counting calories?

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California is now the the first state to ban restaurants from making food with trans fats, which can clog arteries and raise the risk of heart disease.
On Friday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the legislation, which also includes keeping trans fats out of retail baked goods. The law does not apply to packaged foods.

New York City and Philadelphia are among cities in the U.S. that have passed bans against trans fats, but California is the first state to do this.

The law goes into effect January 1, 2010, for oil, shortening and margarine used in spreads or for frying. Restaurants could continue using trans fats to deep-fry yeast dough and in cake batter until January 1, 2011.

Do we need food laws?

This month, New York City went trans-fat free as well as started requiring chain restaurants to post calorie information on their menus – a first for a U.S. city.

Health inspectors can fine fast-food and casual-dining chains up to $2,000 if calorie counts are not displayed on their menus in the same font and format as the name or price of food items.

What do you think of these new laws? Do you think we need them… or should we be able to decide for ourselves what we eat, even if it’s not healthy?

Photo Credit: stock.xchng

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From the burger joints to the fancy eateries, New York is now the first city in the country to go trans-fat-free. About a year and a half ago, the Board of Health voted to ban the artery-clogging fat from the city’s restaurants. Today, the ruling goes into full effect.

The ban covers almost all prepared foods in restaurants, bakeries, even hot dog stands. For months, chefs have been busy changing recipes to eliminate the fat from their menus.

I say, go New York! This is an awesome move to get more trans fats out of our diet. The first step was in 2006 when the FDA began requiring food manufacturers to list how much trans fats are in their products (see the FFTV video). Many companies took it a step further and got rid of trans fat altogether.

Why are trans fats so dangerous? They increase your risk for heart disease like no other fat because while they raise bad cholesterol, they also lower good cholesterol.

And check this out – I just stumbled across this cartoon that’s designed to help us all learn how to eat fewer foods with trans fat without replacing them with saturated fat. Meet the Bad Fats Brothers – Sat and Trans are their names, of course. The American Heart Association (AHA) launched this campaign which features an “edutainment” website where the two bros come to life. Check it out.

Sat is the older brother who’s been around and living it up for quite a while. Trans is the younger charmer who’s a little sneakier. Hey, whatever works, right?

Interestingly, the Bad Fats Brothers campaign is funded by a class action lawsuit settlement against McDonald’s for misleading the public. Here’s a tiny snippet from it:

“McDonald’s announced in September 2002 that it was voluntarily changing to a cooking oil with less trans fat and that the change would be completed by February 2003. However, McDonald’s encountered operational issues and the oil was not changed. Plaintiffs claimed in the lawsuits that McDonald’s did not take sufficient steps to inform the public that it had not changed the oil.”

Back to the New York trans fat ban… there will be a three-month grace period before restaurants that don’t play by the rules will be fined a hefty $2,000 – that starts October 1.

Me, I hope New York starts a trend across the entire country. How about you – what do you think of the ban?

Photo Credit: stock.xchng

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