Effort to ban all trans fats in K-12 schools is law
A two-year effort to ban all trans-fat foods at California’s
K-12 public schools became law Wednesday when SB 490 went into
effect.
Effort to ban all trans fats in K-12 schools is law
A two-year effort to ban all trans-fat foods at California’s K-12 public schools became law Wednesday when SB 490 went into effect.
The bill, authored by Sen. Elaine Alquist (D-San Jose), bans trans-fat foods from all vending machines at the state’s K-12 public schools. It also bans trans fats from food offered by Taco Bell or McDonald’s and other outside vendors on K-12 public school campuses.
In addition, high school campuses will also need to restrict the types of beverages sold to students.
“At a time when one-third of California’s teenagers are obese, we must do our part to reduce the damaging effects of unhealthy eating,” Alquist said in a press release. “A poorly nourished child often makes a poor student who can’t concentrate or study well. Poor nutrition often means poor study habits and limited learning.”
Studies show that millions of school-age children drink soda and eat fast food that contain trans fats, but few eat the recommended daily allowance of fruits and vegetables.
SB 490 was signed into law in 2007, and contained a July 1, 2009 implementation date to allow public schools and businesses the opportunity to prepare for the trans-fats ban. Another legislative effort ensures that school cafeteria food follows USDA nutrition standards, effectively banning trans fats from school-prepared meals.
Janet Felice, the manager of food service for the Hollister School District, said staff members have been working to eliminate trans fats from school lunches for four or five years, before the law was signed.
“This has been coming for a while,” Felice said. “We had been encouraged even before the law went into effect. Most of the vendors did the work for us – any that had trans fats took them out and sent us new specs saying what they did.”
Felice said when the vendors started looking at the items provided to schools few food products still had trans fats.
“It is just one more step in the right direction of what school districts need to do to provide the most nutritious food for students,” she said.
This bill addresses artificial trans fats that are man-made or artificially processed and made from oil. When hydrogen is added to liquid vegetable oil, pressure is added at extremely high temperatures, resulting in a mutated, stiffer fat, like the fat commonly found in vegetable shortenings, some margarine, cookies, crackers, pies and other foods made with, or fried in, partially hydrogenated oils. Trans fats are also called hydrogenated fats.
Trans fats pose a higher risk of heart disease than saturated fats, which were once believed to be the worst kind of fats. While it is true that saturated fats – found in butter, cheese and beef, for example – raise total cholesterol levels, trans fats go a step further. Trans fats also deplete good cholesterol (HDL), which helps protect against heart disease.
SB 965 restricts beverages sold to high school students outside the reimbursable meal program – through student stores, vending machines, fundraisers or food service a la carte sales. The restrictions are in effect from one-half hour before the school day starts to one-half hour after the school day is over.
Beverages that comply with the new law include:
– Fruit-based drinks that are composed of no less than 50 percent fruit juice and have no added sweetener
– Vegetable-based drinks that are composed of no less than 50 percent vegetable juice and have no added sweetener
– Drinking water with no added sweetener
– Two-percent-fat milk, one-percent-fat milk, nonfat milk, soy milk, rice milk, and other similar nondairy milk
– An electrolyte replacement beverage that contains no more than 42 grams of added sweetener per 20-ounce serving
