WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY | Metro Council weighing trans fat ban

Metro Council weighing trans fat ban

By Eric Flack

(LOUISVILLE) -- They are used in some of your favorite foods, but now Louisville leaders could ban them. On Thursday, the Metro Council took the first step toward banning trans fats from local restaurants. Good news for your health that could be bad news for a number of mom and pop businesses that say they can't afford to make the switch, at least not right now. WAVE 3 Investigator Eric Flack has more.

Plehn's Bakery has been cooking up sweet treats in Louisville since 1924. Cakes and cookies that are oh so good, even if they aren't all that good for you.

"Sugar high, immediately," said Susan Deetsch as she walked out with a dozen Christmas cookies for friends and family.

These days, it's not rotting teeth but clogged arteries worrying health officials. More and more are hoping to squeeze out trans fats, which raise bad cholesterol and lower the good.

"From bread, rolls, cookies, cakes, almost everything here has a little bit," said Plehn's owner, Bernie Bowling. "Not a whole lot, but a little bit."

Some on the Metro Council now want to ban trans fats in Louisville. On Thursday, a bill was introduced to make Louisville only the second city worldwide to do so.

It was immediately sent to committee, but the debate has already begun.

"I think anything we do is going to be a good idea that is going to be more healthy for our citizens," said District 10 Councilman Jim King, a Democrat.

Council President Kevin Kramer, a Republican, urged caution. "I think we have to be careful, though, that we don't get so consumed with the science of it that we don't loose track that people ultimately have to make decisions for themselves," Kramer said.

KFC, Taco Bell and Wendy's have already banned trans fats from their food, switching to healthier unsaturated fats and oils.

But Bowling says changing recipes, without changing taste, takes time and money. And Plehn's can't do it overnight.

"We don't have that kind of funds to do the research," Bowling said. "We're a little shop here."

A little shop in the middle of a big battle over what you eat, how it's made, and who gets hurt if the ingredients change.

As it is written right now, the trans fat ban would take effect as soon as it is passed. That part of the bill could change, however, after council members begin debate on the issue sometime early next year.

Experts say removing trans fats from food served in restaurants could reduce deaths from heart disease by at least six percent.

Other studies suggest it could also reduce diabetes and dementia.

Trans fats occur naturally in small amounts, but they are created commercially to extend the shelf life and improve taste. The trans fats that result from a process called hydrogenation have a higher melting point than natural animal fats like butter or lard. Trans fats are usually less expensive and more readily available than animal fat alternatives like palm oil.

Online Reporter: Eric Flack

Online Producer: Michael Dever