Multimedia Reporting (Fred-Musser)

Restaurants in downtown Lawrence may serve healthier food than you think. Many of them cook with oils that do not contain trans fat. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), trans fat can increase the risk of coronary heart disease, of which 500,000 Americans die each year. These health concerns prompted New York to become the first city to ban trans fat from all its restaurants today.

A survey of eight restaurants downtown resulted in five that avoided using cooking oils that contained trans fat. Free State Brewing Company fries all of its foods in peanut oil, which is non-hydrogenated and contains no trans fat. Other restaurants use soybean oil and coconut oil to cook foods; both do not contain trans fat.

Not all restaurants are so conscious of what they serve. An employee at Jefferson’s, a restaurant in downtown Lawrence, said she had no idea if its food contained trans fat.

According to the FDA, trans fat can be found in vegetable shortenings, margarines, crackers, cookies, snack foods and foods fried in partially hydrogenated oils such as vegetable oil. About 40 percent of all trans fat consumed is from cakes, cookies, crackers, and pies. Since January the FDA has required food manufacturers to specify if food contains trans fat.

But why do some oils contain trans fat while others don’t? According to Nancy O’Connor, Education and Outreach Director at Community Mercantile Co-op (The Merc), non-natural oils that have been hydrogenated contain trans fat.

“The oils have been pumped up with hydrogen to make them liquid at room temperature,” O’Connor said. “The trans fat can affect the texture of the food, especially in things like pie crusts.”

Food manufacturers have been rushing to eliminate trans fat from food items for the past few months. KFC is in the process of eliminating trans fat from its menu, and McDonalds has expressed interest in doing the same. Local grocery store The Merc only carries one brand of hydrogenated margarine, while “Trans fat free!” is proudly displayed on the cartons of the rest of the brands. Some crackers and cookies can also be seen with prominent labels informing customers the product is trans fat free.

“It has really become a big selling point,” O’Connor said.

According to a Journal-World story, it is unlikely that Lawrence will ban trans fat from its restaurants anytime soon. In the meantime, the FDA recommends asking what fats were used when preparing a meal.