Trans fats now banned in Boston restaurants
Move to extend rule statewide is stalled
As artery-clogging trans fat becomes officially forbidden in Boston restaurants today, state health authorities are saying they do not believe they have the authority to extend the ban unilaterally across Massachusetts.
Instead, a spokesman for the state's public health commissioner said a review of the agency's powers suggested that only the Legislature can impose a statewide prohibition on trans fat, long a staple of french fries, doughnuts, and other food sold in restaurants and corner stores.
A top lawmaker last month asked the Department of Public Health to review its options after legislation to ban trans fat across the state languished in the Senate despite winning approval in the House of Representatives.
"Given the fact that it's not an open-and-shut case that we currently have the authority to ban trans fat and given the fact that a ban is currently under consideration by the Legislature, we at this point believe that our authority in this area is questionable," said Tom Lyons, a spokesman for the state health agency.
The lawmaker who asked for the review - Representative Peter Koutoujian, cochairman of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Public Health - said yesterday that he intends to press the Legislature to approve a statewide prohibition.
"Some people say, 'Why do you want to do this?' " said Koutoujian, a Waltham Democrat. "Well, you don't allow people to put mercury or arsenic or lead in food."
Starting today, artificial trans fat will be forbidden in Boston's 5,600 restaurants and other businesses that make freshly prepared food. It has nothing to do with taste and everything to do with health, said Barbara Ferrer, who as executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission championed the ban that was approved in March.
"There's no long line of people saying we shouldn't be banning trans fat in our food," Ferrer said. "Most reasonable people say that as the science gets better and we get more information about what we could do to prevent heart disease, it's important to take all those steps, and if one of them is banning artificial trans fat, then we should ban artificial trans fat."
City inspectors will check for evidence of trans fat during their routine visits to restaurants, and while health authorities said they do not intend for the regulations to be punitive, violators can be fined as much as $1,000.
Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health conducted much of the landmark research into trans fat, establishing the link between the ingredient and cardiovascular disease in humans. Primate studies have also shown that trans fat can elevate the risk of a condition that is a precursor to diabetes and also pack fat around the belly, where it is believed to be more dangerous than elsewhere.
Studies estimate that having as few as 40 calories of trans fat a day can boost the risk of a heart attack by 23 percent. A fast-food meal of chicken nuggets and french fries, if prepared with artificial trans fat, can easily contain more than 100 calories of the substance.
Still, in many respects, the Boston ban appears to be a regulation in search of a need. New York City adopted a trans fat ban in the fall of 2006, and in the food business, as goes New York, so goes the rest of the restaurant world.
As large chains began reducing their use of the ingredient, it made little economic sense to keep using trans fat everywhere else besides New York. Tests performed last year by a health advocacy group showed that while some fast-food emporiums had largely eliminated trans fat, dishes at others still contained significant amounts.
In Boston, at restaurants big and small, chic and down home, the shift from trans fat has accelerated in recent months.
At Charlie's Sandwich Shoppe, serving breakfast and banter in the South End for 82 years, this is the most significant change: A month ago, bakers started greasing muffin pans with butter instead of a trans fat coating. Customers have not complained, and Charlie's still sells eight to 10 dozen a day of the blueberry, bran, corn, and pistachio muffins.
"I had a heart attack a year ago," said Arthur Manjourides, owner and chef. "All this is good. I'm on their side."
Victoria's Diner quietly changed its oil a year ago to a soy-based, trans fat-free variety.
"It's a very, very slight difference in taste," said executive chef Christos Maillis. "If it's french fries, they taste a little fresher. What I notice most is the sweet potato fry. You get more of the natural sweet potato flavor."
The new oil seems to have a longer fry life and has actually helped cut costs, he said. "I think a lot of restaurants saw it coming," Maillis said of the ban. "Most have already changed."
Husband and wife Michael and Lori Tormey, visitors from Pittsburgh, stopped for a bite at Victoria's. A nurse, Lori proclaimed the ban "wonderful."
Her husband disagreed.
"It should be up to the individual to make their own choices," he said.
Globe correspondent Casey D. Ramsdell contributed to this report. 