Seen in the Washington Post:
The Montgomery County Council unanimously approved a ban on partially hydrogenated oils in restaurants, supermarket bakeries and delis yesterday, becoming the first county in the nation to restrict artery-clogging trans fats.[...]
Montgomery’s measure follows similar legislation in New York and Philadelphia, which ordered trans fats removed from restaurant menus this year and next. The county’s new health regulation will take effect in January for restaurants and other establishments serving food and in January 2009 for establishments offering baked goods, other than packaged goods made outside the county.[...]
The Montgomery regulation could have a broader reach because of the county’s sweeping definition of what it means to be in the business of serving food. Religious establishments, schools and grocery store salad bars are subject to the county’s regulation.
I wish that this were a shift that would happen just as a natural evolution of the market — let folks make decisions for themselves, even if they’re bad decisions. Sadly, some elected officials seem to feel a need to protect us from ourselves.
Despite that, I’m happy to see that healthier food is becoming easier to obtain when on the road.