 New Rochelle, NY - The Westchester County Board of Health voted unanimously to pass an amendment to the Westchester County Sanitary Code banning the use of trans-fat containing cooking oils by all permitted food service establishments in the County.
This amendment must now be ratified by the New York State Department of Health. The change will take effect 90 days after the County notifies the food service operators that it has been ratified by New York State.
All county residents and other interested parties were given the opportunity to air their views on the proposed amendment at a public hearing held on November 15th at the Westchester County Health Department offices in New Rochelle. Additional comments received from members of the public by mail through December 3rd were included in the Board of Health deliberations.
Several notable health experts expressed strong support for the ban, including nutrition expert Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D, Executive Director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI); Meir Stampfer, M.D., Dr.Ph., Chair of the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health; and Walter C. Willett, M.D., Dr.Ph., Chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School. All three expressed grave concerns about the impact of dietary trans-fats on health.
“We strongly support any measure that would reduce the consumption of trans-fat from hydrogenated vegetable oils. Reduction in their intake is perhaps the easiest, simplest, and most cost-effective measure to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes as well,” wrote Dr. Stampfer and Dr. Willett in a joint letter to the Board of Health.
“You could save many lives at virtually no cost to citizens and the county and only a temporary modest cost and inconvenience to the restaurants and other food service operators,” said Dr. Jacobson in support of the ban.
A substantial body of scientific evidence has demonstrated an association between trans-fat consumption and coronary heart disease. Trans-fats have been shown to increase levels of harmful LDL cholesterol and lower levels of beneficial HDL cholesterol. One study estimated that 23 percent of coronary heart disease events could be avoided by replacing trans-fats with healthier alternatives.
“Given the serious health concerns associated with dietary trans-fat, the Board of Health has determined that food service establishments doing business in Westchester must use healthier cooking oil alternatives,” said Douglas G. Aspros, D.V.M, President of the Westchester County Board of Health.
“By participating in the county’s BeFit Restaurant voluntary pledge initiative over the past year, many local restaurants have already discovered that eliminating trans-fats need not compromise taste or increase costs significantly,” said Dr. Joshua Lipsman, Commissioner of Health for Westchester County.
In July 2006, as part of the County’s Be Fit Westchester initiative, the Health Department began encouraging restaurants in the County to voluntarily avoid the use of cooking oils that contain trans-fats. For a list of restaurants that joined the county’s voluntary program, visit www.westchestergov.com/health/TransFat/TF.htm.
For more information, please call the Westchester County Health Department at (914) 813-5000.
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