One would be hard-pressed to find an industry more highly regulated than restaurants. In Rhode Island, the smallest state in the union, the average restaurateur – who, for the most part, owns a standalone eatery with some family members – has no fewer than 19 separate licenses or certifications. In addition to general business licenses, these run the gamut from ones allowing sales of dairy products to liquor permits.
When new regulations are put into effect, usually at the beginning of a new year, the restaurateur must make room on the wall for another permit – and make room in the budget for another fee to go with it.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Engel & Völkers Oceanside Leader | The DiSpirito…
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Any of the more than 3,000 restaurant owners in the state can certainly sympathize with their colleagues in New York City.
Beginning in July, Big Apple restaurants are prohibited by law from using artificial trans fats – partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. By July 1, 2008, all other food items used in NYC restaurant kitchens – including all margarines and shortenings – must contain less than 0.5 grams of trans fats per serving.
Suzanne Vieira, chair of the Culinary Nutrition Program of Johnson & Wales University’s College of Culinary Arts, has consulted with many national restaurant chains. She gave me a quick course in Trans Fats 101.
Naturally occurring trans fats, among them butter, lard and cream, make up about 20 percent of the average American’s dietary intake of trans fats.
The remaining 80 percent of trans fats in our diets is found in industrially produced partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. When cooking oil is put under pressure and hydrogen is introduced, the oil’s molecular structure changes, transversely.
This is the harmful stuff. The human body can process only very small amounts of these “trans” fats without significant health risks, namely obesity and increased cholesterol.
I asked Professor Vieira the question that is on everyone’s lips. Will banning trans fats make a difference in the health of consumers?
As a nutritionist and educator, she agrees that a greater awareness of the foods we eat has benefits. As far as a direct cause and effect, however, she said the answer is not that simple.
For Vieira, the real way to combat obesity is portion control. The New York measure does not address that issue, nor is it likely that any such legal strictures will appear anytime soon. (There is a companion law requiring New York City restaurants that post nutritional information to also list calories on their menus, but this does not apply across the board.)
The biggest change – and greatest potential inequality – may come in commercial baked goods. After July 1, restaurants in New York City will be in violation of the law if they sell a doughnut fried in oil containing trans fats, while grocery stores will not.
Dunkin’ Donuts issued this statement in response to a PBN inquiry: “In fall 2004, Dunkin’ Donuts acted independently to remove trans fats from our muffins and many of the items available at Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants. We will continue to work to meet the July 2008 deadline set by the NYC Board of Health.”
At celebrity chef Todd English’s restaurant Olives New York, trans fats are not an issue. All frying there is done in pure vegetable or peanut oil, as it is at his restaurants in Boston and at the Mohegan Sun.
But English says the government walks a fine line when it gets involved in determining what we should eat. In certain areas, such as sanitary inspections and to inform us about health issues, he says, the government should be involved. Other than that, English says, “Uncle Sam should not be in our food.”
Industry leaders, including the National Restaurant Association, long have opposed the NYC ban. The association states: “This is a farm-to-table issue. It takes time to develop, plant, grow, harvest and process new alternative crops and to test new oils. Because of this supply problem, with such a limited timetable, many of the city’s restaurateurs will have no choice but to switch to oils high in unhealthful saturated fats, a move opposed by health advocacy groups.”
The Starbucks chain has jumped on the no-artificial-trans-fat public relations bandwagon as well, announcing that baked goods sold in half its cafés – Rhode Island outlets will not be included – are free of the offending fats. The rest of its U.S. stores will follow suit eventually, Starbucks said, after the company succeeds in adjusting its recipes with regional bakers and food suppliers.
Still, there does not seem to be a consensus on the benefits of banning trans fats. Artificial trans fats are on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s list of foods “generally recognized as safe.” On its Web site, in response to a direct question, the FDA states: “According to experts, eliminating trans fat completely from the diet would require such extraordinary dietary changes (e.g., elimination of foods, such as dairy products and meats that contain trans fatty acids) that [it] could cause an inadequate intake of some nutrients and create health risks.”
There is no indication that any legislation seeking to ban trans fats is likely to be taken up by the General Assembly. However, a ban similar to New York’s is already being discussed in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Your local restaurant may yet have to make more room next to all those other permits. n
Dining Out with Bruce Newbury can be heard on Talk Radio 920 WHJJ-AM Fridays at 6 p.m. and Saturdays at noon.
