Last December, I heard that the New York Board of Health banned restaurants from serving food with trans fat. More specifically, the law:

…allows restaurants six months to switch to oils, margarines and shortening used for frying and spreading that have less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. After 18 months, all other food items – including all margarines and shortenings – must contain less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving.

I had never heard of trans fat, which I read greases the slippery slope towards heart disease. I thought, ‘Ah, those fatty New Yorkers. It’s probably all that gloopy stuff in super-pizzas, fried chicken and chips. I don’t have to worry. I eat healthily.’

But look what I’ve discovered! This PDF flyer publicising the ban tells me that trans fats are not only in deep fried and fast foods, they’re also in margarine and ‘most baked goods’.

‘Most baked goods’? What does this mean? Am I doomed because I like muffins?

Here it is again, the line-up of the condemned.

• Vegetable oils used for frying, baking, and cooking
• Shortening (hard vegetable oil)
• Margarine and other spreads
• Prepared foods, including:
  • Pre-fried foods, such as French fries, fried chicken, chicken nuggets, fish fillets, chips, taco shells, and doughnuts
  • Baked goods, such as hamburger buns, pizza dough, crackers, cookies, cakes, pies, and pastries
  • Pre-mixed ingredients, such as pancake mix, hot chocolate, salad dressing, croutons, and breadcrumbs

What a frighteningly comprehensive list!

To be honest, I don’t often eat those (yummy, yummy) kinds of food so I’m not going to be changing my lifestyle. However, I’m suddenly sympathetic to all the restaurateurs scratching their heads, trying to figure out how to make cheesecakes and croissants without breaking the law.