Ethics Newsline®

NEW YORK
Trans fats, artificially processed substances that please most palates but clog arteries, have become the latest product targeted by public health advocates in the continuing controversy over the ethical implications of banning unhealthy products.

USA Today reports that trans fats are approaching tobacco as the health community’s “Public Enemy Number 1,” with New York last week becoming the first major U.S. city to ban the substance at restaurants.

The Associated Press reports that New York City health commissioner Thomas Frieden maintains that the ban will fight obesity and heart disease.

Restaurant trade associations contend that the ban is symptomatic of a Big Brother culture.

“This isn’t over,” said Dan Fleshler, a spokesman for the National Restaurant Association told the AP. “We don’t think that a municipal health agency has any business banning a product the (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration has already approved.”

Small restaurants also complain that the ban will alter successful recipes and will create an unfair financial burden on establishments that have to alter their cooking methods.

Several major fast-food chains have banned trans fats, according to Louisville, Kentucky, television station WAVE, and a number of U.S. cities, including Louisville, Boston, Chicago, and Seattle also are considering bans similar to New York City’s.

Also last week, Loews Hotels announced it will stop using trans fats at all of its hotels and resorts in the United States and Canada by June 1, according to the Reuters news agency.

The first stage of New York City’s ban goes into effect this July, when French fries and fried chicken must be trans-fat free. By July 2008, the substance must be removed from all other foods, including doughnuts and pies made on site. The ban will not apply to pre-packaged foods served at restaurants or to stores that sell products with trans fats.