• Release ID: 07-026
• Release Date: 3/19/2007
• Contact: William Klein 240-777-7830
• From: Office of Duchy Trachtenberg

Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg to Propose Elimination of Artificial Trans Fats 

‘Change the Oil’ Breakfast on Monday, March 26, Will Introduce  Measure to Make Montgomery First County in U.S. to Pass Ban

 ROCKVILLE, Md., March 16, 2007--Montgomery County Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At-Large), herself a public health professional, will introduce her first major legislation before the County Council on Tuesday, March 27—a regulation restricting use of artificial trans fats for cooking in County restaurants. Passage of her bill would make Montgomery the first County in the nation to ban trans fats in restaurants.

On Monday, March 26, at 10:30 a.m. in the County Executive Office Building cafeteria in Rockville, Trachtenberg will be joined by local and national restaurateurs who are eliminating trans fat from their kitchens. Trans-fat free food will be served to County employees. Nutritional experts will be among those present to explain the importance of replacing the cooking substance with much healthier alternatives.     

Trans fat increases LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and lowers HDL (“good”) cholesterol.  While many consumers are taking steps to eat and shop healthier, restaurants remain a significant source of this major link to obesity and heart disease.

 Trachtenberg’s bill would require that elimination of trans fats in Montgomery County restaurants be in force by Jan. 1, 2008.

 Her proposal mirrors similar legislation adopted by the New York City Board of Health in December 2006.  According to researchers at the Center for the Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), who will be represented at the March 26 event, Montgomery County would be the first county in the U.S. to take this step.

 Trachtenberg, who holds a Masters Degree in Social Work, is a past Governing Councilor and Chair of the Alternative Medicine Section within the American Public Health Association (APHA). She said that the support of major restaurant operators who have already demonstrated their belief in finding alternatives to trans fat oils for their businesses shows that Montgomery County is ready to ban the oils in all restaurants.

 “This is a solid example of when government protects public health and at the same time, catches up to public demand,” Trachtenberg said. “Following the best practices of food leaders like Marriott, Ruby Tuesday and our own Silver Diner is the right thing to do—and tasty too!”

Marriott International announced this year that it was eliminating trans fats in fried foods and deep frying oils as part of an eight-year effort to remove trans fats from the vast majority of food served at more than 2,300 Marriott International hotels throughout the U.S. and Canada. Chief Executive Officer Bill Marriott even discussed it on his blog.

 “Boy, I just love French fries,” he wrote. “I started cooking French fries back in 1950 when I worked in the Hot Shoppes in Salt Lake City. And all my boys joined the company when they were 15 and 16 and worked first cooking French fries in the Hot Shoppes. So I love French fries.

“Unfortunately, we've all learned that the oil with which we cook French fries is a source of trans-fat, and today, that's not good. We know it's been linked to obesity and heart disease. Our team at Marriott has been working on taking these trans-fats out for a long time—for more than eight years.”

 For more information on the bill that Councilmember Trachtenberg will introduce, contact William Klein at 240-777-7830 or 301-412-1768 (cell).