Arnold Schwarzenegger. Credit: gov.ca.gov

SATURDAY July 26, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- The State of California on Friday became the first state to ban the use of artificial trans fat, long linked to clogging of arteries, in all restaurants and other food establishments in the state.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that prohibits restaurants from using trans fat in any form of fat including oil, margarine and shortening. The bill AB97 was introduced by Assembly member Tony Mendoza (D-Norwalk).

Under the new law, the use of trans fat in all California restaurants will be phased out by Jan 1, 2010 in all foods except for baked foods which will be free of trans fat by Jan 1, 2011.

The law does not apply to school cafeteria.  California has already banned serving foods with added trans fat in schools.

"California is a leader in promoting health and nutrition and I am pleased to continue that tradition by being the first state in the nation to phase out trans fat," Gov. Schwarzenegger said. "Consuming trans fat is linked to coronary heart disease and today we are taking a strong step toward creating a healthier future for California."

Trans fat, also known as partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, is manufactured by adding hydrogen chemically to unsaturated fat at high temperature in a process called partial hydrogenation.

Consumption of trans fat has been linked to the development of coronary heart disease and stroke as well as other chronic disease such as type 2 diabetes and possibly cancer. Trans fat is involved in about 100,000 deaths from heart disease each year in the United States, according to Harvard epidemiologists and nutritionists.

The New York Times cited Dr, Clyde Yancy, incoming president of the American Heart Association as saying a 2 percent increase in trans fat intake could result in a 25 percent increase in the risk of developing coronary artery disease over time.

Yancy was quoted by the times as saying “It is pretty clear now that it was a mistake for us to embrace these fats.”

But the American Heart Association in 2006 opposed a proposal to ban use of trans fat in the New York City’s eateries, according to newstarget.com.  The AHA argued that banning trans fat would prompt restaurants to use other saturated fat, which is known to increase bad cholesterol.

But Michael Jacobson, executive director of Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based health advocacy group, was quoted by Washington Post as saying "All the evidence shows is that trans fats are the most harmful. You can substitute anything in their place, and it will be an improvement."

The new California law specifies that violations result in fines ranging from $25 to $1,000. But the bill allows packaged foods with less than 0.5 grams per serving of trans fat.

A health observer affiliated with foodconsumer.org cautioned that there is no safe threshold for trans fat and any amount of this chemical could add up to increase health risk.

New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle and Montgomery County, MD have already banned trans fat, but California is the first state to prohibit use of trans fat in restaurants statewide, Amy Wintefled from the National Conference of State Legislatures was cited by the Associated Press as saying.

The California Restaurant Association opposed the bill, but spokesman Daniel Conway was cited by the AP as saying that his organization will not challenge the bill because many of its members have started phasing out trans fat.

According to the New York Times, many national restaurant chains including Kentucky Fried Chicken, Wendy's, Taco Bell, the Cheesecake Factory and McDonald have begun to use alternative fat in the foods they serve.

Average daily intake of trans fat for an American is 5.8 grams or 2.6 percent of calories.   Major food sources of trans fat for American adults include cakes, cookies, crackers, pies, bread (40%), animal products (21%), margarine (17%), fried potatoes (8%), potato chips, corn chips, popcorn (5%), household shortening (4%), salad dressing (3%), breakfast cereal and candy (1%), the Food and Drug Administration reported in 2005.