Efforts to ban trans fats gain momentum

BOSTON—Efforts to ban artery-clogging trans fats from restaurants statewide are gaining momentum.

State Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach said on Wednesday he agrees with a lawmaker who wants to impose a statewide ban on trans fats, which have been linked to heart disease.

State Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham, co-chairman of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Public Health, wrote in a letter to Auerbach that trans fats are "poison."

Auerbach says he will look into whether his agency has the regulatory authority to impose a ban.

The Legislature considered a statewide trans fat ban, but the Senate did not vote on it before the end of the session.

Boston, Brookline and Cambridge have already banned restaurants from using trans fats, also called hydrogenated oils.

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Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe