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GUEST: Stephen Joseph, the CEO of BanTransfats.com

Earlier this month, the city of New York decided to ban all restaurants from using artificial trans fats. City health officials created the unprecedented new requirements which set a limit of a half-gram of artificial trans fats per serving of any menu item. Restaurants have until 2008 to comply. Meanwhile, Loews Hotels has announced a chain-wide ban of trans fats, including food served in its restaurants, meeting facilities and through room service. And chain restaurant operator Denny’s Corp. said Monday it will cut trans fats from its menu, changing its frying oil and replacing margarine products used in food preparation. Trans fats are created by the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils. Partially hydrogenated oils are commonly found in processed foods like commercially baked products such as cookies, cakes, crackers, and even bread. They are also used as cooking oils for frying in restaurants. Nutritionists at Harvard University have estimated that replacing trans fats with natural unhydrogenated vegetable oils would prevent between 30,000 – 100,000 premature deaths annually.

For more information, visit www.BanTransFats.com.