SACRAMENTO, CA ? Beginning Friday, California will prohibit restaurants from cooking with trans fat, becoming the first state to proactively ban the substance, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Supporters are praising the ban as a way to protect diners who may have been unaware of trans fat consumption at restaurants because they are unaware of the ingredients used.
"Consumers should rejoice because they can actually take family and friends out to eat and not worry about whether food will be cooked in trans fat," said Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, who proposed the ban.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill in 2008, and restaurants were given a one-year adjustment period. Bakeries need not comply until January 2011. California previously had barred trans fat in preparing food for schools.
Responding to health concerns, many restaurants had been reducing or eliminating trans fats even prior to the bill?s passage. Daniel Conway, spokesman for the California Restaurant Association, said that the New Year?s Day deadline does not pose a major compliance issue for restaurants.
"This was an ingredient that was already being phased out, for the most part," Conway said. "I think most restaurants have had adequate time to comply."
California?s ban on oils, margarines, and shortenings containing more than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving will be monitored by restaurant inspections already conducted by local health departments. Violators can be fined up to $1,000.
Assemblyman Chuck DeVore opposed the new law as an example of government interference offering little beneficial impact.
"Not every human problem deserves a political solution," DeVore said. "That's the fallacy my colleagues engage in."
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