New York City restaurants go trans-fat-free

By Edith Honan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - One New York City chef spent a year mastering a trans-fat-free version of his sfogliatella pastries. Boston Market restaurants have introduced a trans-fat-free chicken pot pie in New York before taking it to other U.S. cities.

All that work was in preparation for New York City's ban on trans-fats in restaurants, which took full effect on Tuesday, and is the first of its kind among major U.S. cities. The move follows the city's 2003 ban on public smoking.

Artificial trans-fats give French fries their crunch and pie crusts their flakiness and chefs have been figuring out how it was done before trans-fats came into wide use during World War II, when margarine became a substitute for rationed butter and Crisco became a staple in U.S. kitchens.

Artificial trans-fats, which also are known as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, have just as many calories as other fats but clog arteries in the same way that saturated fats like butter and lard do.

A year ago, New York restaurants were banned from using the artery-clogging fats in cooking oils and spreads. On Tuesday, all trans-fat products were banned, although the city will allow a grace period before issuing fines up to $2,000.

Laura Stanley, a former senior editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia who heads the city's Trans-Fat Help Center, a clinic to help restaurants make the transition, said there had been complaints from bakeries and restaurants about trans-fat-free cookies turning out too crisp. It was nothing that could not be fixed with a little adjustment in baking time, she said.

"I don't want to be cavalier and say that it's solved. But I'm really, really optimistic," said Stanley, who has led a series of seminars to educate cooks about trans-fats and posted tips on a city Web site, Notransfatnyc.org.

Dunkin' Donuts, Burger King, and McDonalds Corp., as well as KFC and Pizza Hut, which are both owned by Yum! Brands Inc., all say that they have eliminated trans-fats from their New York restaurants, and they are on track to do the same across the country.