Restaurants slow to drop trans fat options

updated 4:18 p.m. ET Feb. 28, 2005

WASHINGTON - For people trying to banish trans fat from their diets, dining out can be a big problem.

Products free of trans fat are rapidly appearing in supermarkets snack aisles, but the fried chicken and french fries ordered in restaurants usually are cooked in shortening or oil containing trans fat.

“Unfortunately, the restaurant industry has almost become addicted to them because it’s sort of the cheap and easy thing to do,” said Dr. Walter Willett, a Harvard University nutrition expert. “There now are alternatives that are available, and restaurants just need to take their customers’ health to heart.”

The government started telling people in January to eat as little trans fat as possible. Studies have linked it to higher risk of heart attacks. It also has been shown to raise bad cholesterol and, unlike saturated fat, reduce good cholesterol.

Look for the word 'hydrogenated'
To find trans fat, look for the word “hydrogenated” in the list of ingredients on a food label. Hydrogenation is the process of turning liquid vegetable oils into hardened fats — think shortening or margarine.

Harder fats give pie crust and other baked goods their delectable texture. These fats also are durable. They stand up to high temperatures and last long enough to fry multiple batches of fries, chicken, fish and onion rings.

Beginning next year, trans fat must be listed on food labels, helping shoppers who have had to hunt through the ingredients. The labeling requirement has driven the development of trans fat-free cookies, crackers, chips and other foods.

For restaurants, which provide one in every five meals in the country, there is no such requirement. Restaurants are only now beginning to take trans fat off their menus.

“They’re in places where you wouldn’t expect to find them, like in oyster crackers. We went through a ton of oyster crackers,” said Roger Berkowitz, president and chief executive of Legal Sea Foods.

An East Coast chain of 30 restaurants, Legal Sea Foods has eliminated trans fat from its menu, switching to a trans fat-free vegetable oil and finding a manufacturer that precooks french fries without using trans fats.

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