Spring Break
State lawmakers look to tackle use of trans fats
Hopkins eliminated trans fats from its dining halls last year
Issue date: 3/6/08
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All foods that are prepared in on-campus Dining facilities have been trans-fat free for over a year - that includes dining spots such as the Fresh Food Café (FFC), Nolan's and Levering. Other dining places on campus, like the Charles Street Market, are not trans fat-free since they sell many pre-packaged goods. However, both the deli and "Hot and Not" buffet items are trans fat-free.
"We only needed to make some minor ingredient changes to be trans fat-free. In conjunction with and with support from our food contractor, we made the decision to do so because offering the best and healthiest products are two primary goals of our campus dining program," Director of Dining Programs David Furhman said.
The state bill, Bill 81, "Task Force to Study the Regulation of Artificial Trans Fat," is co-sponsored by Maryland delegates James Hubbard and Peter Hammen. If passed, it will establish a task force to study the banning of trans-fat in the state. A similar bill will take affect in July 2008 in New York City.
While he is unsure of the bill's chances of being passed in Maryland, Matthew Crenson, a professor of political science at Hopkins, feels that the bill's larger "impact in this area is the informal pressure on the food industry to label products as having trans fats or not. There is a small minority who push for things like this."
Many popular restaurants which Hopkins students frequent, such as Chipotle and Bert's, have not used trans fats for over five years. While some restaurants have not advertised as being trans fat-free, others, such as Chipotle, promote their use of the best quality foods.
For restaurants, the main issue in becoming trans fat-free is the cost of replacing essential ingredients - butter and vegetable oil, for instance - with trans fat-free products like soy oil.
"What people don't know realize, is that it's not just one or two things; we have to change our entire menu," said Petro Kumar, the manager of Tamber's. Kumar cited the example of the cost of French fries originally priced at $1.25 changing to $1.85 or even $1.95 because "it costs more for trans fat-free ingredients."
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