In reply to Mr. Wilkes' comment about having to return to animal fat since vegetable shortening is out, non-trans fat vegetable shortening is available. It consists of fully hydrogenated fat mixed with unsaturated oil. It is more expensive and in shorter supply but, as with the butter substitution, can be done with only a marginal increase in cost to his customers.

I don't think any restaurant will change it's ways without govermnment regulation.

Good thing the MoCo residents have a good nanny government to make the tough decisions for them since they clearly aren't smart enough to make such choices on their own.

"I don't think any restaurant will change it's [sic] ways without govermnment regulation."

And why should restaurants change their ways? Trans fats, if eaten in excess, can lead to health problems. But having a basket of chicken tenders or a piece of pie once a week isn't going to hurt anyone. This ban is simply the government reacting to pseudo-science and trying to "do something" about a problem that doesn't really exist. It's emotional governing at its worst.

I'm confused. I eat at the Tastee in Silver Spring all the time, and their menu clearly says "We do not use Trans Fat in our cooking." Is that not true?

With so many school age children and adults overweight, the council would have to be crazy not to ban trans fats from our diet. Trachenberg deserves applause. Now the Post et al. need to ban trans fats from our budget. I see the PR campaign the editors have been running--bringing in people one at a time to say what tax increases we need while our gasoline prices are going through the roof. Why doesn't the Post ever mention that Delaware has no sales tax at all? Someone would have to be stupid to shop in Maryland rather than Delaware, if there were a choice. Why do we need to load up our elementary schools with new vice principals? They are budgetary transfats. They do not teach and have huge pension costs. I attended Oakview Elementary School where Mrs. Alderton was principal for 30 years with no vice principal. Why do we spend hundreds and hundreds of police manhours giving tickets to people who do not wear seatbelts? Just put loud dingers in the cars which annoy people who do not have on their seatbelts or put computer chips in the seatbelt mechanism so insurance companies will know to give premium reductions to those who wear seatbelts. Every time Mr. Leggett says something he wants a new tax increase. He needs to eliminate transfat spending.
The zoning codes in Wheaton are universally unenforced. Leggett's solution? Add one new inspector. Why not hire hundreds of teachers who are free for the summer and check every house in Wheaton for violations in one week? These teachers are smart. They will know a violation when they see one.

With so many school age children and adults overweight, the council would have to be crazy not to ban trans fats from our diet. Trachenberg deserves applause. Now the Post et al. need to ban trans fats from our budget. I see the PR campaign the editors have been running--bringing in people one at a time to say what tax increases we need while our gasoline prices are going through the roof. Why doesn't the Post ever mention that Delaware has no sales tax at all? Someone would have to be stupid to shop in Maryland rather than Delaware, if there were a choice. Why do we need to load up our elementary schools with new vice principals? They are budgetary transfats. They do not teach and have huge pension costs. I attended Oakview Elementary School where Mrs. Alderton was principal for 30 years with no vice principal. Why do we spend hundreds and hundreds of police manhours giving tickets to people who do not wear seatbelts? Just put loud dingers in the cars which annoy people who do not have on their seatbelts or put computer chips in the seatbelt mechanism so insurance companies will know to give premium reductions to those who wear seatbelts. Every time Mr. Leggett says something he wants a new tax increase. He needs to eliminate transfat spending.
The zoning codes in Wheaton are universally unenforced. Leggett's solution? Add one new inspector. Why not hire hundreds of teachers who are free for the summer and check every house in Wheaton for violations in one week? These teachers are smart. They will know a violation when they see one.

Trans fat ban might bring back animal lard?? On second though, I am totally in favor of the trans fat ban. All hail the return of animal lard!!!

MoCo is quickly going from a nanny state to a police state. Why not implant everybody with a mind-control chip so they can regulate thought and behaviour? How about everybody wearing black pajamas all the time like they do in China. Since some places now tell you what kind of car you can have in your driveway, this type of control won't be too far in the future.

While I'm thinking about it, it looks like it is going to take a fire with many deaths to get the attention of officials who are supposed to enforce the zoning codes in Wheaton. IRS doesn't check every return. They use enforcement in a small number of cases to get compliance. Why can't our zoning (read fire) code officials enforce the same way. Another solution is to file a Writ of Mandamus against the county as I did twenty years ago in Takoma Park to enforce the zoning codes. Instead of letting these officials who are supposed to be enforcing the codes sit around the Xerox machine or e-mail their friends, let them tell their excuses to a Judge.

While I'm thinking about it, it looks like it is going to take a fire with many deaths to get the attention of officials who are supposed to enforce the zoning codes in Wheaton. IRS doesn't check every return. They use enforcement in a small number of cases to get compliance. Why can't our zoning (read fire) code officials enforce the same way. Another solution is to file a Writ of Mandamus against the county as I did twenty years ago in Takoma Park to enforce the zoning codes. Instead of letting these officials who are supposed to be enforcing the codes sit around the Xerox machine or e-mail their friends, let them tell their excuses to a Judge.

Your liberal leftist county knows what's best for you. Besides with all the money you'll save by not eating out (since all the food will taste like crap) the county can then invent some new taxes for you.

Thanks for the grammar check!

Well, I'll leave you all to your hearty meal of trans fats - I'll pass, thanks. Would you all like some E.coli or listerium on that as well?

And thanks, Robin Ficker, for your deft twist of a health/nutrition issue into a taxation issue - way to go!!

Hmm....According to an article in the NY Times about coffee shops in NYC having to change their pastries to comply with the trans fat ban, butter contains enough naturally occurring trans fat to prevent its use in croissants and other high-fat pastries. The ban doesn't take the naturally occurring trans fats into account. Is MoCo's going to be different, or have they, like NYC, not thought this through enough.

My parents and I joke about them living in the People's Democratic Republic of Maryland, but it's becoming less of a joke all the time. At least their part of Anne Arundel Co. is still largely rural. For now.

I am glad about the ban and hope it will be nationwide really soon. I am still AMAZED that the FDA did not have the courage to ban trans fats completely.

Even the new labels are not very true since they allow up to 0.5 g of trans fat PER SERVING to be considered as no or 0% trans fats! Read the labels and if "partially hydrogenated oils" are listed, there ARE trans fats in that product. Don't be fooled.

Trans fats have been poisoning the bulk of our food supply for many years now. The heart disease/stroke rate will probably drop like a stone a few years after we eliminate trans fats.

All the hysteria over trans-fat shows why people should actually look into issues for themselves rather than trusting shallow media reporting. Yes, trans fats aren't good for you. But as long as you don't eat too much of them, you are fine. If you want a doughnut, then eat it and rest assured that you will not die because of the little bit of trans fat you ate. If you eat a whole box, however, then perhaps you have bigger issues rather than all the trans fat you ingested.

The bottom line is that people should be free to eat unhealthy foods if they wish. If you want to avoid trans fats, then by all means do so. For the rest of us who decide that a little trans fat won't hurt us (and it most assuredly will not), then let us enjoy it.

I have rarely been more embarrassed to live in MoCo than I am right now. I fully understand how liberal politicians view the people who voted them in as too ignorant and stupid to handle things like dietary practices, etc. I hope this is the "darkest before the dawn" period in MoCo, but I doubt it. The liberal/progressive politicians in MoCo are like auto repair shops that tell you what a good job they've done readjusting all your mirrors and resetting all your radio stations to their liking. The problem is that they never opened the hood.

No wonder living in Montgomery County is so expensive. We pay ridiculously high taxes to support a meddling government that makes decisions that drive up the cost of everything. I've been a county resident my entire life. I'm increasingly finding that a source of embarrassment.

No wonder living in Montgomery County is so expensive. We pay ridiculously high taxes to support a meddling government that makes decisions that drive up the cost of everything. I've been a county resident my entire life. I'm increasingly finding that a source of embarrassment.

MoCo votes only for democrats. Stupid laws get passed. They wonder why.

Tastee Diner and many other places may have already been promoting that their food is trans fat free, but that likely means items fried in trans fat free oil. Montgomery County's ban goes way beyond that, banning partially hydrogenated oils and shortening (the sources of artificial trans fat) from pies, cookies, pastries, biscuits and all other baked goods, sauces, gravys and anything else that contains such ingredients. The ban goes beyond just restaurants. Churches, clubs, fraternal organizations, schools, cafeterias, prepared foods at grocery stores and all other foodservice establishments are also included in the ban. The Council's actions here are broader than most people realize.

MK's comments are in contradiction of reputable studies.

According to the National Academies of Science, "the NAS has concluded there is no safe level of trans fat consumption. There is no adequate level, recommended daily amount or tolerable upper limit for trans fats. This is because any incremental increase in trans fat intake increases the risk of coronary heart disease". [Source: Food and nutrition board, institute of medicine of the national academies (2005). Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids (Macronutrients). National Academies Press]

Moderation is a good principle but to apply it to trans fats seems to lack supporting evidence. If the health concerns are "pseudo-science", I'd be interested to see some references to back that up.