NYC Trans Fat Help Center: http://www.notransfatnyc.org/
NYC keeps the cannoli but drops the trans fats
NEW YORK - June 29, 2008 "We're banging our heads against the wall right now," said
Manny Alaimo, an owner of the respected Villabate Pasticceria in
Brooklyn.
Italian breads and cookies made with the zero-trans-fat
shortening just haven't come out right, he said. A few demanding
customers have complained about subtle changes in taste and
texture, he said.
"It's going to be a really bumpy. People are just going to have
to get used to it," he said.
Such fears have kept other cities from following New York's
lead.
Family owned bakeries in Philadelphia raised such a ruckus that
city lawmakers gave them an exemption from the trans fat ban that
passed there last year.
The New York ban may have had its biggest effect on fast food
chains, which have transformed recipes nationwide.
Dunkin Donuts eliminated trans fats from its doughnuts in
October, months ahead of the deadline for frying oils. The
company's cooks began experimenting with a replacement oil back in
2003 and tested 28 different substitutes, sometimes with disastrous
results, before picking a new blend of palm, soybean and cottonseed
oil.
The company sold 50 million trial doughnuts in secret, to see
how customers would react, before announcing it had made the
switch.
Dunkin Donuts said customers didn't notice the change.
In fact, Laura Stanley, a consultant who has been working with
smaller New York restaurants seeking to adapt, says there doesn't
seem to be a food that can't be saved.
She worked with a program based at New York City College of
Technology in Brooklyn that tested replacement ingredients, held
classes, and came up with fixes for recipes that seemed
particularly problematic.
"We were pleasantly surprised," Stanley said. "We'd
anticipated a lot of problems with flavor, but for most of these
items the new products performed fine."
The one disappointment is that many chefs have been turning to
products high in saturated fats, like palm oil, as a replacement.
Some research suggests those fats might be just as bad for you as
trans fats.
But there's hope: a second generation of low-cholesterol oils is
coming out now. Stanley said there have been encouraging signs that
they might be improved enough to persuade chefs to use them.
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