Bakers want time to adjust to trans fat ban





	Bakers asked the county Health Department to delay the implementation of its trans fat ban.

January 30, 2009 | 02:16 PM
Supported by numerous medical advocates, the county Legislature unanimously passed a phased prohibition on trans-fat use by the Suffolk food industry Tuesday. The measure directs the county Health Department to develop guidelines for a gradual implementation of the trans fat ban. Legislator Lou D'Amaro (D-North Babylon), who sponsored the measure, said he anticipates an 18- to 24-month phase-in period, with trans fats barred from cooking oils first and baked goods later.

In response to concerns bakers expressed at a Jan. 29 Health and Human Services Committee hearing, lawmakers and county health officials pledged to coordinate deadlines for the ban with bakers' ability to find a substitute for trans-fat-laden vegetable shortening.





File photo (click for larger version)

"We're committed to doing a phase-in that doesn't impact them economically," D'Amaro said.

Trans fats, found in artificially hardened vegetable oils used in frying and baking, offer a longer shelf life and lower cost in comparison with natural animal and plant lipids. However, their consumption boosts heart disease risk by lowering heart protective HDL cholesterol

levels while increasing hazardous LDL cholesterol, along with increasing chances of stroke and Type II diabetes, according to medical experts who testified Thursday.

While the typical American eats six grams of trans fat daily, and a single fried fast-food meal can contain far more, the American Heart Association recommends limiting consumption to less than two grams of the artificial lipids per day. To minimize risk, people should avoid consumption of any artificial trans fats, as natural foods already provide small amounts of the fats, health experts said. There is "no known safe level of trans fats," said Nancy Rau from the Department of Family Medicine at Stony Brook University.

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Suffolk's death rate due to heart disease is the 13th worst among New York's 62 counties, according to county Health Commissioner Dr. Humayun Chaudhry. "Our heart disease mortality rates are atrocious," Dr. Chaudhry said. "Given what we know, it would be unconscionable not to move forward and do something."

But an immediate ban would cripple the local baking industry, warned Richard Reinwald. He is owner of Reinwald's Bakery in Huntington and vice president of the Nassau and Suffolk Master Bakers Association.

While bakers agree with the need to limit trans-fat consumption, a viable baking substitute for vegetable shortening has yet to be found, Reinwald said. In eliminating trans fats, food manufacturers have turned to various tropical oils, but they cost more and produce inferior products, the baker said.

The tropical oils "do not cream up sufficiently" and cannot impart the same preservative power; pastries made with these shortening substitutes are "usually unsellable after one day," Reinwald said. The tropical oils also cost 20 percent more and must be changed out of deep fryers sooner than their hydrogenated counterparts, he added. The baker said a better substitute derived from soybeans is being developed, but it's unlikely to become available for commercial use for another three to five years.

Plus, bakeries in regional supermarket chains are regulated by the state, not county, and so would escape the ban, said Reinwald, a statement later confirmed by a county Health Department spokesperson. The supermarkets could continue to use the cheaper, longer lasting fats and undercut the local mom-and-pop bakeries, Reinwald said.

"Your competition is allowed a free ride," the industry spokesman argued. As a result, he said, many bakers would rather pay fines for using trans fats than produce an inferior product.

Testimony from Reinwald and other bakers found sympathetic ears. The county should "not rush to get something regulated when we're going to hurt business," argued Legislator Jack Eddington (WF-Medford).

However, the New York City Health Department has successfully implemented a ban on trans fat as of July 2008, D'Amaro noted. "They have received not one complaint, and we asked that question specifically."

Shortening substitutes must be available, he argued, as bakers in the city, California, Albany County and a growing number of localities have been operating without trans fat. "Roadblocks [to industrial substitution] have been removed by these other jurisdictions," he said.

The Legislature also voted 17-1 Tuesday to adopt a bill requiring chain restaurants with 15 or more locations in Suffolk to list on their menus each food item's total calorie count.

Both measures now go before County Executive Steve Levy for his signature or veto.

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