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Menu labeling, trans fat ban approved by the Board of Health (King County, Washington State)
King County Public Health ^ | July 19, 2007

Posted on 07/20/2007 1:27:17 PM PDT by Stoat

Menu labeling, trans fat ban approved by the Board of Health
Thursday, July 19, 2007
KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - People will be able to make more informed food choices and have a safer food supply as the result of today’s action by the King County Board of Health to require menu labeling in King County chain restaurants and to eliminate artificial trans fat in all King County restaurants. Board of Health members expressed strong support for the decision that will improve the dining experience and the health of the community in the fight against obesity and chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

“The Board of Health is responsible for passing laws to protect the health of the public, and to promote healthy behaviors that improve health and prevent illness,” said King County Councilmember and Board of Health Chair Julia Patterson. “There is no better example of our commitment to residents’ health than the legislation passed today that protects us from dangerous trans fats and promotes consumer education and informed choices by labeling menus.”

“With the menu labeling requirement, the Board has taken a significant step today to enable us to make more informed choices about the food we eat,” said Dr. David Fleming, Director and Health Officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County. “And, the elimination of artificial trans fat is great news for preventing heart disease and improving the health of our community.”

“Our rising health care costs, our growing number of obese, diabetic and chronically ill residents, and a lack of information to inform choices that improve our health, all prompted the Board of Health to take action today,” said Seattle City Councilmember and Board of Health Member Sally Clark.

“Since last December, the King County Board of Health has considered options to halt and potentially reverse the growing obesity trend in our county. After many months of education, discussion and deliberation, as well as the appointment and recommendations from a stakeholder committee, we resolved that banning trans fats and requiring chain restaurants to menu label were important options we could implement,” said Issaquah Mayor and Board of Health Member Ava Frisinger. “The worsening health of residents is an extremely complex problem to solve, but eliminating fats we know harm health and providing consumers with information about the food they eat are two strategies that can begin to address and improve our health.”

“The American Heart Association has long recognized that the consumption of artificial trans fats and the increase in obesity rates puts people at risk for heart disease,” said Dr. Benjamin Danielson, M.D., volunteer spokesperson and local board member for the American Heart Association. “The Board’s action today fits into our comprehensive approach to improving the health of King County residents by empowering all of us to be informed consumers and making healthier eating choices.”

“Menu labeling has the support of more than 65% of King County residents, who want to know how healthy, or unhealthy, restaurant meals they enjoy are,” said Board of Health Member Dr. Bud Nicola. “People with diabetes who track their intake of carbohydrates, people with high blood pressure who watch the sodium content of foods, and people who are overweight or obese, who are calorie or fat counting, will all see direct benefits in their ability to manage their condition.”

The Board of Health and Public Health - Seattle & King County will be working with the restaurant industry and the public through education campaigns that will prepare them for the menu labeling and trans fat changes in the upcoming months. Technical assistance will be available to restaurants to assist them in following the new regulations. The public education campaign includes plans to work with community partners to ensure that everyone understands how to utilize the nutritional information to make informed choices.

More about menu labeling:

The new law will require chain restaurants with more than ten national locations to display calorie, fat, sodium and carbohydrate information on menus. If the restaurant uses a menu board, the calories will be posted on the board in the same size and font as the price information. The remaining nutritional information will be provided in a plainly visible format at the point of ordering. Only standard menu items will need to be labeled – occasional “specials” will be exempt.

Restaurants will have until August 1, 2008 to conduct the nutritional analysis and put the information on menus and menu boards. King County will be the second jurisdiction in United States to require menu labeling in some food establishments.

More about artificial trans fats:

Trans fats will be eliminated in all King County restaurants in two phases. Fry oils and shortenings with artificial trans fats will not be permissible after April 1st, 2008. Restaurants must find alternatives for margarine and all other products containing trans fats by February 1st, 2009. Many restaurants have already made the switch to trans fat free alternatives, but the new rules will ensure that the remaining restaurants will make the change as well.

Artificial trans fats have been used widely in the restaurant and processed food industries because they have a high smoking temperature and they keep food stable over a long shelf life. Industry trends have been to find alternatives to the use of trans fats, so there are non-trans fats options available from distributors and in processed products.

The King County Board of Health sets county-wide public health policy, enacts and enforces local public health regulations, and carries out other duties of local boards of health specified in state law. These duties include enforcing state public health statutes, preventing and controlling the spread of infectious disease, abating nuisances, and establishing fee schedules for licenses, permits and other services.


TOPICS: Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; US: Washington
KEYWORDS: food; foodnazis; foodpolice; kingcounty; menus; rats; seattle; transfats; washington; washingtonstate
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To: djf
I ain’t been there in a coons age...

Sauteed Prawns and Linguini...

To die for!!!

You should give them another visit sometime  :-)

The Fairview and John location has the better chefs....the Airport location isn't built so much on return business but on the volume created by being just down the street from the airport.

The staff is always polite and treats you like a human being.  Their 24 hour menu means that they won't say "no, we're not serving that at this time".  Plenty of free parking across the street.

Never had anything approaching a bad meal there after nearly 30 years of loyal patronage

Their portions have gotten smaller and more expensive though, but most folks will still probably not leave hungry.

For dessert, the fried ice cream is always a crowd pleaser   :-)

41 posted on 07/20/2007 2:56:38 PM PDT by Stoat (Rice / Coulter 2008: Smart Ladies for a Strong America)
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To: aligncare

So, you want goobermint mandates for that?

Wunnerful! Landofthefree and all that.

Let them as rational, free thinking individuals make that choice.

Are we that weak that we need a govt law for everything.

Guess we are.


42 posted on 07/20/2007 2:57:40 PM PDT by swarthyguy
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To: browardchad
I prefer not to pay $20 - $40 for an entree that hails from the filth of the Yangtze River, or the halls of Montezuma's revenge.

Agreed.  a nice steak from Texas or Oklahoma is my preferred choice.

43 posted on 07/20/2007 2:58:51 PM PDT by Stoat (Rice / Coulter 2008: Smart Ladies for a Strong America)
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To: aligncare

Labeling them is fine....BANNING them is the issue


44 posted on 07/20/2007 3:00:25 PM PDT by goodnesswins (Being Challenged Builds Character! Being Coddled Destroys Character!)
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To: Stoat

Best omelettes in the USA.


45 posted on 07/20/2007 3:06:03 PM PDT by IslandJeff (Daniel 2: 20-23)
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To: durasell
Banning trans fats makes me uncomfortable as well, though I suspect the problem will take care of itself as new formulations come on the market.

I would hope it makes you more than uncomfortable. The "problem" wouldn't be a problem if not for the incredible amount of misinformation the food police and toxic terrorists have bombarded the public with. The fact is trans fats comprise less than 2% of our total caloric intake. To blame trans fats for heart disease, obesity, diabetes and sun spots is absurd especially when saturated fat is making up 12-15% of our total caloric intake.

This issue is nothing but a calorie distraction foisted on us by a bunch of know nothing do gooders who want to act like they're doing something about the problem. Typical of liberals. Results don't matter, only intentions matter.

Whatever replaces the trans fat will have just as many calories. People are obese, suffer heart disease and contract diabetes because they consume more calories than they burn. That's it in most cases. It's pretty simple really. Why we so readily sacrifice our freedom to the alter of junk science is truly disturbing.

As an aside, removing TFA's from products like cooking oil has serious negative implications for consumers. Removing these fats could result in the product oxidizing much more rapidly. Oxidation creates large amounts of free radicals. Consuming free radicals, no matter who you are, is not something you want to do. There are always unintended consequences when do gooders do good. Hence my tagline.

46 posted on 07/20/2007 3:06:38 PM PDT by Mase (Save me from the people who would save me from myself!)
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To: Stoat

When I go, it’s always the Airport one, but like the last 3 times I tried to get in it was a 90 minute wait.

And they didn’t, last time I checked, take a res.

:-(

So I usually go to the casino and get the all-u-can-eat seafood buffet, which is a pretty respectable spread.


47 posted on 07/20/2007 3:07:38 PM PDT by djf (Bush's legacy: Way more worried about Iraqs borders than our own!!! A once great nation... sad...)
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To: swarthyguy

Before you know it Govt. will have banned everything that is unsafe or even marginally dangerous.

And we’ll all live forever!!


48 posted on 07/20/2007 3:07:57 PM PDT by TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig (There once was a dream called, "Hippy Beat Down." The mere whisper of if caused cops to cry)
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To: IslandJeff
Best omelettes in the USA.

OMG they are wonderful!

Lawdy, you folks are making my tummy rumble!

Let's see....how can I justify a nice dinner out tonight?

"snicker"

49 posted on 07/20/2007 3:08:15 PM PDT by Stoat (Rice / Coulter 2008: Smart Ladies for a Strong America)
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To: djf
When I go, it’s always the Airport one, but like the last 3 times I tried to get in it was a 90 minute wait.

And they didn’t, last time I checked, take a res.

:-(

So I usually go to the casino and get the all-u-can-eat seafood buffet, which is a pretty respectable spread.

I'm very sorry to hear that.  I think that you will have better luck if you avoid Friday and Saturday nights....I have often gotten in on a weekday at dinnertime with less than 15 minutes' wait....and breakfasts and lunch during the week are almost always no wait at all (speaking of the Fairview and John location).

It's true about reservations....I think that they will only take them if you have a party of six or more, as I recall.

50 posted on 07/20/2007 3:13:00 PM PDT by Stoat (Rice / Coulter 2008: Smart Ladies for a Strong America)
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To: Apt604
Dr. Pepper bottled in Dublin, TX still uses cane sugar..."Besides being the oldest Dr Pepper bottler in the world, Dublin Dr Pepper also has the distinction of being bottled with Imperial Pure Cane Sugar - the original Dr Pepper formula. "

Ummmm....good

51 posted on 07/20/2007 3:14:33 PM PDT by A_Tradition_Continues (THE NEXT GENERATION CONSERVATIVE)
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To: swarthyguy
Come on...I didn’t say that.

I said INFORMATION IS GOOD. And I hinted that Americans as a group are overweight.

How we gonna fight the Islamofacists, if we’re all overweight.

BTW, much of that weight sneaks up on us unaware of where the excess calories are coming from.

Information allows us to exercise self responsibility. That’s all I’m saying.

As for banning trans-fats...give ‘em an inch and they’ll take a mile. I don't believe in bans; I believe in readily available information.

52 posted on 07/20/2007 3:36:10 PM PDT by aligncare (Beware the Media-Industrial Complex!)
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To: aligncare

>>INFORMATION IS GOOD

Yes,but the recent wholesale manipulation of scientific information, particularly in an alarmist fashion to accomplish social goals, fashioned by politicos and bureaucrats, creating in effect a nannygranny state is alarming and to me anathema to the whole concept of America and Liberty itself.

It starts with innocuos things that are hard to disagree with and then, the nature of man, government and bureaucrats being what it is, they become draconian.


53 posted on 07/22/2007 12:33:25 PM PDT by swarthyguy
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To: aligncare
Additionally, I don’t think restaurant chains would have done this voluntarily.

Probably not. . .takes a lot of work and money. But I do think labeling is necessary as there are so many people who have the health problems you outlined. They should at least know what's in something before they eat it.

But I am against banning ingredients. Label it, then let the market decide.

54 posted on 07/23/2007 6:17:30 AM PDT by MEGoody (Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.)
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