California lawmaker proposes NYC-like trans fat ban: NewsTarget.com

California Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, proposed a bill that seeks to ban trans fats in baked and fried foods in restaurants and school cafeterias throughout the state.

Though the proposed bill is not as comprehensive as the trans fat ban passed earlier this month in New York City -- where trans fats in all restaurant foods are now banned -- it seeks to limit the amount of heart attack- and stroke-inducing fats in restaurant and school foods.

Garcia said lawmakers in California -- where legislative leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have named health care the top issue in 2007 -- should take her bill seriously. If passed, the bill would place enforcement responsibilities on the state's 58 county health departments.

Garcia has also called for the creation of education programs to teach restaurant owners how to use trans fat alternatives. Because trans fat-free alternative oils are more expensive than their hydrogenated counterparts, Garcia admits the price of restaurant foods could increase. However, she said, eating out at restaurants is an option consumers can choose to avoid if the cost of somewhat healthier food is too high.

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California lawmaker proposes NYC-like trans fat ban

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