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(CBS/AP) NEW YORK Slightly healthier French fries and doughnuts could soon be on the menu at city restaurants, along with more information about how those treats could affect your waistline.

New York health officials used their regulatory powers Tuesday to order a pair of unprecedented changes at city eateries.

One will make New York the first U.S. city to ban restaurants from serving food containing artificial trans fat, an artery-clogging substance listed on food labels as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. The second will require as many as 1 in 10 of the city’s restaurants to begin listing the calorie content of their foods right on the menu.

Restaurants will get a grace period to make both changes. But by mid-2008, Dunkin’ Donuts will have to find a substitute for the 3.5 grams of trans fat in its Boston Kremes and tell customers up front that the yummy snacks contain 240 calories.

City Department of Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said the changes will help fight the twin epidemics of obesity and heart disease.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who banned smoking in bars and restaurants during his first term, said the changes could save lives.

“We’re not trying to take away anybody’s ability to go out and have the kind of food that they want in the quantities that they want, but we are trying to make that food safer,” he said.

Parts of both proposals were opposed by elements of the city’s gigantic food service industry.

Some cooks have worried about tinkering with tried-and-true recipes. Concerns have been raised about whether there is enough trans-fat-free cooking oil on the market to supply the city’s thousands of friers.

Big fast food companies had complained about the calorie provision, too, saying it would clutter menu boards with health data already available on fliers, charts and Web pages.

Some companies have hinted that they might challenge both rules in court.

“This isn’t over,” said Dan Fleshler, a spokesman for the National Restaurant Association, which represents the industry. “We don’t think that a municipal health agency has any business banning a product the Food and Drug Administration has already approved.”

The board, which passed the ban unanimously, did give restaurants a few breaks.

The calorie disclosure rule will only apply to restaurants that serve standardized portion sizes and make nutritional information available voluntarily. Companies that don’t wish to comply can simply stop providing any nutritional data.

The board also relaxed a tight deadline for compliance on the trans fat ban.

With some exceptions, restaurants will be barred from using spreads and frying oils containing artificial trans fats by July 1. Foods covered in that first round include french fries and fried chicken.

All other foods, including doughnuts, cookies and pies that use partially hydrogenated vegetable oil for texture, will have to be trans fat free by July 2008.

Originally, the city had envisioned giving restaurants less time, but Frieden acknowledged that finding substitute ingredients for baked goods will take experimentation.

“There are real challenges for certain products,” he said.

The ban won’t apply to grocery stores or restaurants that serve prepared foods in the manufacturer’s original packaging.

Trans fats are believed to be harmful because they wreak havoc with cholesterol levels.

Some food makers stopped using trans fats voluntarily after the FDA began requiring trans fat content on food labels.

Wendy’s introduced a zero-trans fat oil in August. KFC and Taco Bell said they also will cut trans fats from many foods in their kitchens.

McDonald’s has experimented with more than a dozen healthier oil blends for its french fries and has vowed to be ready for New York’s ban.

Cooks originally began using partially hydrogenated vegetable oil as a substitute for animal fats because it is cheaper and has a longer shelf life. The FDA estimates the average American eats 4.7 pounds of the stuff each year.

Source: wcbstv.com

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