In the trans-fat game, zero wins

Los Angeles County on Thursday rolled out a program in which local restaurants that agree to stop using heart-damaging trans fats in their cooking will get a decal to display in their windows.

Unlike eateries in New York City, which last year banned the use of trans fats, restaurants here get to decide which kinds of oils to use under the county’s voluntary program.

Trans fats are plant oils with added hydrogen atoms; the altered fats are used in frying, baking and in manufactured foods to extend shelf life. Mounting evidence that shows they increase the risk of high cholesterol and heart disease has led to campaigns around the country to halt their use.

Some national fast-food chains, including Burger King, KFC and McDonald’s, already have switched to other oils, county health officials noted.

“It’s time for people to change the oil in their bodies,” Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of the county Department of Public Health, said at a news conference in West Los Angeles to launch the program.

Restaurants that decide to participate in the county program must apply to the Department of Public Health at a cost of $204. Public health inspectors will visit the establishment unannounced to verify that cooks are preparing food with trans-fat-free products and are not storing or serving partially hydrogenated oils, shortening or margarine with more than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. The restaurant then will get a green decal to let health-conscious customers know it’s on board.

Once restaurants have begun applying and are approved for the decals, county officials will list them on the public health website, lapublichealth.org, which also has information about the program.

Health officials said they don’t know how many of the county’s more than 30,000 restaurants will participate, but expressed confidence that consumers will like the program and patronize participating restaurants, thus encouraging more eateries to sign up.

“As people start looking for these zeros [on the decals] they’re going to really respond,” said Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke, a major proponent of the program.

Local officials initially explored banning trans fats in both the city of Los Angeles and the county but backed off in the face of jurisdictional issues with the state and potential opposition from the restaurant association, said Councilman Jose Huizar.

“We wanted to do something that’s quicker, that’s immediate,” said Huizar. If trans fats are less available to the public, “I think overall the cumulative effect will be a healthier Los Angeles,” Huizar said.

Many restaurants already have begun phasing out trans fats, said Blair C. Salisbury, president of the Los Angeles County Chapter of the California Restaurant Assn., which represents 1,500 local eateries.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Salisbury, who supports the effort. Employees at his Mexican restaurant in Pasadena use a trans-fat-free oil to fry chips. “I think we’re trending toward healthier dining.”

The news conference took place at Poquito Mas, part of a Mexican fresh-food chain that stopped frying with trans-fat oil three years ago, owner Kevin McCarney said.

When his restaurant first made the switch, he said, the new oil cost twice as much but produced fresher and crispier tortilla chips. The price difference has since been smoothed out, he said.

“It was a natural move for us,” McCarney said. “You don’t want shelf life in your arteries.”

susannah.rosenblatt@latimes.com