The board, which passed the ban by a unanimous vote, did give restaurants a slight break by relaxing what had been considered a tight deadline for compliance. Restaurants will be barred from using most frying oils containing artificial trans fats by July, and will have to eliminate the artificial trans fats from all of its foods by July 2008.
Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said recently that officials seriously weighed complaints from the restaurant industry, which argued that it was unrealistic to give them six months to replace cooking oils and shortening and 18 months to phase out the ingredients altogether.
The board also ordered restaurants to standardize how they display the number of calories in dishes on their menus in an effort to combat obesity.The new law, to take effect July 1, applies to restaurants that already report the calorie counts and requires them to display the numbers on menus and menu boards. It is expected to affect about 10 percent of New York City restaurants, including many fast-food establishments.
Steve - we are dancing in the streets! Chicago, you're next! Bonnie just interviewed with Crain's Chicago Business on how this will affect Chicago. Look for it at www.chicagobusiness.com withjin the next few days.
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