Health Department Makes Push for Trans-Fats Labels

The Cambridge Public Health Department announced a “trans fat free” decal program last week designed to acknowledge restaurants that have already phased out artificial trans fat from their menus.

To obtain the decal, businesses must fill out an application certifying that they have assessed all foods in their facilities and have eliminated all products with artificial trans fat.

Those who successfully apply will also be listed on the “Who is Trans Fat Free” page of the Cambridge Pubic Health Department Web site.

As of March 31, there were 16 Cambridge businesses on the list, including Au Bon Pain, Finale Desserterie, and Armando’s Pizza.

Josefine Wendel, a nutritionist at the Cambridge Health Alliance who helped to spearhead the implementation of the city’s trans fat ban, said that the decal program had two objectives.

Besides indicating the restaurants that were already trans fat free, the decals would provide an incentive for restaurants that are not yet trans fat free to eliminate the harmful component.

Information about the initiative was publicized last week through e-mails to the members of the Harvard Square Business Association and other Cambridge business associations, and in a newsletter from the Cambridge Community Development Department, according to Wendel.

Tom Brush, the owner of Felipe’s Taqueria, Flat Patties, and Crema Café—all of which are trans fat free—said that he plans to apply for the decal, since much of the general public is concerned about healthy eating.

At Veggie Planet on Palmer Street, owner Tom Penn said that he also planned to obtain a decal for his establishment, which has always been trans fat free.

Though he said he expected the decals to have a beneficial effect on restaurants that display them, he also said that eliminating trans fat is gradually becoming an expectation—rather than a hallmark—for food service establishments.

“Being trans fat free wont give restaurants a competitive advantage, but not being trans fat free will be a competitive disadvantage,” said Penn.

So far, Wendel said that no new restaurants have applied for the decal. In a study conducted by the Cambridge Public Health Department in October 2007, 47 percent of Cambridge restaurants were already trans fat free.

In July 2008, Cambridge became the third municipality in Massachusetts to ban the use of artificial trans fat in restaurants and other food service establishments, following Brookline and Boston. Phase one of the ban begins July 1, 2009 and affects cooking oils, shortening, and margarines containing artificial trans fat, and the full ban will take effect on October 1, 2009.

According to a report by the Cambridge Trans Fat Task Force, the decision to ban artificial trans fat was based on scientific evidence linking trans fat to many health problems—including diabetes, heart disease, and obesity—as well as the desire to protect consumers, who may not know the trans fat content of meals prepared outside the home.

At Harvard, HUDS completely eliminated trans fat in fall 2007 after years of gradually phasing it out.

—Staff writer Liyun Jin can be reached at ljin@fas.harvard.edu.