Restaurateurs have a new reason why the city’s proposed ban on trans fat won’t pan out – there isn’t enough healthy oil to go around.
The city’s 24,000 eateries will face a major “supply problem” trying to meet a July 2007 deadline to stop cooking with oils containing trans fat, industry leaders will testify today at a landmark City Council hearing.
“The reason all restaurateurs have not switched to trans-fat-free options is that there simply aren’t enough trans-free products and oils on the market today,” said Chuck Hunt, head of the New York City Restaurant Association.
Hunt plans to tell the council that it takes time to develop, plant, harvest and test new oils.
If the city enacts a ban, he argues, restaurants will be forced to use palm oil, which contains saturated fat and has been found to promote heart disease.