California Says Farewell to Freedom Fries, Bans Trans Fats
California on Friday became the worst first state to completely ban trans fats from state restaurants. That sucks.
…Tammy Perez, owner of the Pizza Club restaurant in La Habra (Orange County), says the transition is not so easy. She switched to oil free of trans fat 18 months ago - and paid twice as much, she said. The bad economy is making it hard enough for restaurants to survive, she added, and now the new law is “pushing some of us over the edge,”
The law requires professional cooks to purge their kitchens of all ingredients containing more than half a gram per serving of artificial trans fat by Jan. 1, 2010. Inspectors could impose fines of $25 to $1,000 for violations.
Bakers have an extra year to adhere to the ban because pastries are the most difficult products to make without trans fat-laden oils and shortenings. Packaged foods are not affected by the law.
[...]
“As a former fourth-grade schoolteacher in East L.A., I saw firsthand the problems of obesity,” [Assemblyman Tony] Mendoza said Friday. “AB97 is a culmination of these concerns and works to benefit the well-being of kids and California.”
More politicians pretending to do stuff for kids here in the SF Chronicle.
Of course, until California’s overlords are nannying vegans–a distinct possibility in that state if any, frankly—it will be impossible to completely banish trans fats, since about 20% of the trans fats we eat occurs naturally in beef and the meat of other tasty ruminant animals. Though that 20% figure will rise as restaurants (but not, yet, grocers) are forced to cook how the state wants them to.
Winehouse Fried
Amy Winehouse might not be ready to cut a record, but she’s always ready to chow.
Crispy sharing too much about Ms. Winehouse’s eating habits here.
Snap via The Superficial.
National Chip Week Launches
Though the Belgians and Dutch do a better job with chips (aka French fries) — we like them crispy, you know — the Brits love their chips.
This week is National Chip Week in England. To celebrate, the British Potato Council’s Love Chips website has gobs of fun facts, games, and a bit of history. The site also features a series of classic films re-created by the spuds themselves. As the Sun reports (because reporting on short films starring French fries is, you know, part of being a crack journalist):
Chip-lovers can watch Jack and Rose sail the ‘Titanchip’, Goose and Maverick’s dogfight in ‘Top Chip’, James Bond face the ketchup laser in ‘Chipfinger’ and Sally get naughty in ‘When Sally Got Saucy’.
Though that all sounds a bit too reminiscent of Be Kind Rewind (which I haven’t seen because I’m sure it sucks), Titanchip (I never saw the original, either, because I’m sure it also sucks) is quite gripping. Especially with some malt vinegar.
