Food

Boston Restaurants Get Ready For Trans Fat Ban

BOSTON (WBZ) ― At the Breakfast Club in Brighton, you can get your eggs anyway you'd like, and the French toast is thick and delicious. But, you won't find nary a trans fat in any of their food.

"Eventually everybody knew it was gonna come," said cook Frank Thierry.

He's referring to a citywide ban on trans fats, affecting 5,600 eateries in Boston.

Starting on Saturday, restaurants have to use cooking oils and margarines that are trans fat free. It's a move health officials hope will make people healthier. Customers like the idea.

"I think people trusted what they were given and now people are becoming much more conscience and questioning what's good for them and what's not good for them," said Melvin Snider, shortly after he finished his breakfast.

New York was the first to ban trans fats. Since then, large restaurant chains like McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts, have been making the switch.

Tim McHale of Brighton doesn't mind the government telling people what to eat, saying "People need to be led."

Frank Thierry, who learned how to cook from his grandmother in Louisiana says eliminating trans fats is not only a good move health wise, it's also good for business. "You give your customers too much, then they wont be around to buy from you."

The city's Public Health Department says no one has asked for an extension. If a restaurant is caught breaking the ban, it will face a fine of $100 to $1,000. 

 Trans Fat FAQs
 Foods That Contain Partially Hydrogenated Oils

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