Karcher will seek to ban trans fats in restaurants BY MARK ROSMAN Staff Writer State Sen. Ellen Karcher wants trans fats out of the food you can eat in New Jersey restaurants. Karcher (D-Monmouth and Middle-sex) announced on Oct. 5 that she will be introducing legislation to ban trans fats from Garden State restaurants in order to fight the statewide trend in increasing childhood obesity, diabetes and coronary artery disease. Informed of Karcher's plan, a spokes-man for the New Jersey Restaurant Association told Greater Media News-papers on Oct. 6 that legislators in Trenton should stay out of the kitchen. "We're following New York City's lead in banning trans fats, in order to combat heart disease and obesity and realize a healthier New Jersey," Karcher said in a press release. "Study upon study has shown the health risks from consuming trans fats, including heightened cholesterol and increased risk of cardiac arrest. This is an epidemic, and unless we take action, it will only get worse." Karcher said her proposed ban is modeled after the proposal to eliminate trans fats by 2008 from New York City restaurants and food carts. The ban would replace partially hydrogenated oil, commonly used in cooking and commercial food production, with heart-healthy alternatives such as mono- and poly-unsaturated vegetable oils. Karcher said an April study from the Harvard School of Public Health reported that tens of thousands of cardiac deaths could be prevented each year if trans fats were removed from American diets. "On average, we get a third of our caloric intake and spend almost half of our food dollars eating out in restaurants," the senator said. "While some establishments, like Wendy's, have already opted for heart-healthy substitutes for trans fats, other restaurants have fed into the national obesity epidemic. We need to do something about this because the mortality rate increases between 20 to 40 percent among overweight people. "I know that I'll get some pushback from this proposal, but I think people have to realize that we're not proposing a ban on foods, but rather on unhealthy food preparation," said Karcher. "McDonalds' restaurants in Europe offer french fries which are much healthier than their American counterpart, because they use heart-healthy alternatives which are free from trans fats. In the long run, heart-healthy alternatives will save money and save lives," the senator said. Karcher said the bill will be introduced shortly. Chris Fifis, a partner in Ponzio's Restaurant, Cherry Hill, is a spokesman for the New Jersey Restaurant Associ-ation. When told of Karcher's idea, he said, "The first thing they need to do is trim the fat out of state government and help reduce our property taxes." He called the senator's proposal "typical government interference with business. Now they are telling us how to cook; they are coming into our kitchen." Fifis said most restaurant operators offer healthy alternatives with special menus and special items because that is what customers are demanding. "We listen to our customers," he said. "Legislating in the kitchen is not effective. There has to be a better way for them to use their time to make things better for citizens." Fifis said said restaurants use thousands of products and it would be impossible to check the ingredients in every item.