The FDA Bans Trans-Fats in Restaurants

The national ban will follow Michael Bloomberg's crusade in New York City.

Nearly a decade after ex-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg banished trans-fats from restaurants in the Big Apple, the Food and Drug Administration is set to do the same on a national level. The FDA is expected to outlaw trans-fats in American restaurants on June 15, according to the New York Post.

Dr. Thomas Farley, who served as health commissioner under Bloomberg, told the Post that the move is long overdue: "It's about time. Trans-fat is an artificial chemical. It never should have gotten into our food supply in the first place. It's toxic over the long term and it's easy to get rid of."

Trans-fats are typically found in foods as a result of cooking with partially hydrogenated oils, which are created by adding hydrogen molecules to liquid at high temperatures. The added hydrogen allows oils to take a solid form and gain longer shelf life.

The ban will have an impact on trans-fat consumption in restaurants across the country, but time will tell how it affects overall consumption. On the Center for Science in the Public Interest's "Trans-Fat Wall of Shame," the vast majority of offenders are household items — microwaveable popcorn, margarine, cookies, and the like — and not dishes found at restaurants.

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