What are transfats, and what catering should do with them, part 2?

The ban applies to all restaurants, room service, banquet functions and even snack foods in guest room mini bars. The move comes on the heels of a vote last week by the New York City Board of Health to ban all artificial trans fats in the city's restaurants by July 2008. Restaurants must stop using most frying oils containing artificial trans fats by July 2007. Trans fat is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil–a process called “hydrogenation”–which increases the shelf life and flavor stability of foods containing these fats. Trans fat is found in vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, cookies, snack foods and other foods made with or fried in hydrogenated oils. Some trans fat occurs naturally. Trans fat is considered a health risk because it raises the level of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol while cutting levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol.