Is it time to put trans fat on trial in St. Louis?
By Laura Batty
Who would have thought the Oreo could cause such a ruckus? In May 2003, a California lawyer sued Kraft Foods because of the cookie’s trans-fat content, and the company responded in 2005 by introducing a replacement for the dunkable dessert, sans trans fat. Then came New York City’s outright—and semicontroversial—ban on frying oils that use the bad-cholesterol–producing fat, which is set to go into effect in July. Philadelphia followed suit in February, passing its own ban.
Chefs and restaurant owners in plenty of New York’s 20,000+ eateries had reservations when the city’s health department served up the restrictions, arguing that they’d have to sacrifice taste, so we wondered howSt. Louis’ restaurant industry might respond to a similar ban. The reactions ranged from “meh” to “been there, done that.”
In fact, Richmond Heights’ Harvest has already eliminated trans fats from its foods, save for those that are naturally occurring. “We are not using trans fats now,” says owner and chef Stephen Gontram, “and we haven’t for a few years.”
The same goes for Terrene, in the Central West End. “It’s a simple fix,” says owner and chef Dave Owens. “You just order trans-fat–free oil.”
So if local restaurants—albeit notoriously health-conscious ones—are already adhering to self-imposed bans, would an official trans-fat smackdown even be necessary? After admitting that finding suitable substitutes would be easier today than even five years ago, Pat Bergauer, executive vice president of the Missouri Restaurant Association, gets a little miffed at the idea of government intervention. “Mandating things without working together is not a good idea,” she says.
A rep from the St. Louis County Health Department had little to say on the potential challenges inherent in enforcing a ban (“We haven’t dealt with that because it hasn’t happened,” was the snippy response), but the city’s department of health, which conducts 9,000 restaurant inspections per year, was a little more forthcoming. “I don’t see anything happening in the next six months,” said acting director Pamela Walker, “but we hope that the conversation starts in St. Louis.”
If Owens had his way, the conversation would shift from the trans-fat freakout to bigger issues like sustainable fish species and recycling for restaurants.
But Dave, this is St. Louis, home of the deep-fried ravioli. “Yeah, we like fried stuff here, but a lot of the country does,” he says. “Maybe it would be more of a problem on the Hill.”
