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Illinois lawmakers look to ban trans fats from school cafeterias
By Nguyen Huy Vu
Associated Press
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SPRINGFIELD -- Twelve-year-old Vanessa Prather loves her french fries. The sixth-grader orders her favorite deep-fried side dish at least three times a week, when it's served in the Washington Middle School cafeteria, with no thought to the health problems that can be caused by trans fats.

"No one here cares about that," Prather said recently, as she and her friends downed fries, sausage pizza, baked chips and orange juice at the Springfield school.

Maybe not, but health advocates and some Illinois lawmakers do.

Illinois could join eight other states in restricting or banning trans fats in schools if lawmakers act on a bill pending in the state Senate. California, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon and Texas have laws on the books, according to the School Nutrition Association, an advocacy group.

``One of the first places children are exposed to trans fats is in our schools,'' said Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, who introduced the Illinois bill. ``We think that is the first environment where children should learn good eating habits and the benefits of it.''

Produced when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil, trans fats increase the shelf life and improve the flavor of foods. But they also can raise a person's level of so-called ``bad cholesterol'' and have been linked to obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

Nearly 16 percent of Illinois youngsters ages 10-17 are overweight, the 14th highest percentage in the country, according to Trust for America's Health, a research group that focuses on disease prevention.

Illinois' bill would require the State Board of Education to eliminate cafeteria food cooked with vegetable oils containing trans fats by July 2009. A year later, all foods with added trans fats from cafeterias, vending machines and a la carte items would be outlawed. Foods with naturally occurring trans fats — including meat, milk and cheese — would be exempt.

But school administrators say a ban on trans fats is unnecessary because state education officials already have set fat and calorie limits for school menus.

``The bottom line is that nobody cares more about the health and safety of students more than the local elected board and they're there to make these decisions,'' said Ben Schwarm, associate executive director of the Illinois Association of School Boards.

The Illinois State Board of Education in 2006 introduced voluntary guidelines on what foods can be sold outside of school cafeterias. Schools also are barred from selling candy and soda during the school day to kindergarten through eighth-grade students.

``We have seen an increase in fresh fruits and vegetables being offered in schools and whole-grain products,'' said Roxanne Ramage, a board dietitian. ``The shift is there and we're starting to see some great progress.''

School officials also fear they could face higher costs because oils without trans fats — such as olive and canola — are more expensive, said Sarah Watson, spokeswoman for the Springfield School District. She said the district already has moved to baking more foods.

In California, schools began removing foods with trans fats after lawmakers last year passed two laws: one, effective this summer, bans schools from selling meals with artificial trans fats or fried foods as part of the free and reduced-price meal programs; another bans trans fats from a la carte and snack foods beginning July 1, 2009.

The transition hasn't been easy in the Visalia Unified School district in central California, said Lynnelle Grumbles, the district's director of nutrition services.

``It is taking time and it is costing more,'' said Grumbles, who also is president of the California School Nutrition Association.

She said the state estimated removing trans fats would cost an extra 1 to 2 cents per serving, ``and that's basically what we are seeing.'' But skyrocketing prices for fuel and flour are making the transition to healthier meals even more costly.

``When you do the math, it becomes a rather large impact,'' Grumbles said.

In Illinois, Trotter said his goal is to encourage good eating habits in school children, especially those from lower-income families whose only meals are free breakfasts and lunches at school.

But he's also willing to cooperate with school officials to make the change smoother.

``We are trying to get to that reasonable first step now and then move forward,'' Trotter said. ``There is a cost to eating healthy but there is, as we look at it, a larger cost in eating unhealthy.''

The bill is SB2858

On the Net:

www.ilga.gov

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Reader comments on this story - 17 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

something to think about wrote on Apr 14, 2008 10:11 AM:

" For crying out loud. Stop taking parenting away from parents.

One meal a day will NOT kill my child. As long as I prepare decent meals at home, what they eat at school is not an issue. "

lizzie wrote on Apr 11, 2008 7:58 AM:

" This is why I won't allow my kids to eat "hot lunch". Yuk.

I think it's a great idea getting rid of transfat foods in schools. Parents can only do so much - the ultimate decision when parents aren't around is up to the kids. Why not eliminate a temptation? Go for it. "

DT wrote on Apr 11, 2008 7:13 AM:

" Why limit it to schools and not every food source in the state? Oh, yeah. That way you put the burden of enforcement on the schools and the state doesn't have to do anything except ask for compliance reports. "

mizer wrote on Apr 10, 2008 8:52 PM:

" WHOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO BAN EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!

Find anything that people like and ban it, soon everyone will be at the Governments mercy. I guess prohibition taught America nothing. "

Just A Guy wrote on Apr 10, 2008 5:11 PM:

" Just like with the smoking ban (which is pretty much unenforceable), please everyone post factual evidence that trans fats are unhealthy. "

libertarian viewpoint wrote on Apr 10, 2008 5:10 PM:

" I think the Government should just ban everything that is unhealthy and post police officers in restaurants, bars, schools, grocery stores and nursing homes. The police officers can make sure that people are only making healthy decisions because its the Governments job now to make personal decisions for people. No longer can private business owners decide if they want smoking or not in there establishments nor can kids no longer eat deep fried foods at schools. In New York I believe all trans fatty foods are banned everywhere and this will probably soon be the next step here. Unfortunately our population has lost the principles of small government and personal responsibility. "

miskaffon wrote on Apr 10, 2008 5:05 PM:

" Homeschooling just keeps sounding better and better....until this Big Brother gov'mint decides they need to regulate what a homeschooler serves for dinner in their OWN HOME. When did this country become sheeple instead of individual people???!!!! YOU may treat your children with toothpicks and bark for dinner but what about the ones who do not need to lose weight??! "

Interested Party wrote on Apr 10, 2008 4:49 PM:

" Trans fats cause health problems. The government at the state and federal levels is the largest payer of health insurance costs (for emplyees, medicare, medicade, and who knows what other programs). It IS their job to try and reduce these costs for taxpayers. "

Devil's Advocate wrote on Apr 10, 2008 4:15 PM:

" The Health Nazis are at it again. All freedom of choice must be surrendered to the Great Health Fuhrers from the Fatherland of Chicago and its subservient colony of Springfield. Stand up and write your local representatives and senators to stop the madness. Ohhh... that's right! Republican Bill Brady already believes that government should stay out of our lives. So instead write to some Democrat bootlicker who needs to know what freedom is all about. "

spottyjoe wrote on Apr 10, 2008 4:05 PM:

" to rdbrdfn: why do you have a problem with your kids being served healthy foods at school. It is about time the schools changed their menu. Personally I do not want to eat transfats nor do I want my family eating them. Kids can still eat french fries, just fry them in a transfat free oil. "

Just A Guy wrote on Apr 10, 2008 3:56 PM:

" Why is the state wasting their time on this instead of more important things, like the budget, an incompetent governor and/or funding needed programs. Trans fats can wait. "

Live Wire! wrote on Apr 10, 2008 3:52 PM:

" Kids shouldn't be able to make themselves fat eating school lunch. That's just pathetic local leadership, and you shouldn't need the state to step in and force local school districts to serve balanced meals. This should be real simple. You serve a fruit, a veggie, a starch, and a protein at every lunch. How did we get so off track that we're feeding kids pizza and french fries several times a week. "

Rolling Eyes wrote on Apr 10, 2008 3:41 PM:

" I propose a constitutional ban on these kinds of intrusive laws. "

No govt wrote on Apr 10, 2008 3:39 PM:

" Government knows best according to the libs. We as people can't care for us. Please give us more unemployment, please pay for my health insurance, please help me make all my decisions!!! Please give me a break and raise your own children. I think there are more important issues than trans fats. If the state libs want to cut fat, cut the fat from their own heads. "

really... wrote on Apr 10, 2008 3:32 PM:

" How about a ban against peanuts? Peanuts are deadly to some children but they are still served in state schools. The incident of this allergy has only risen in recent years. So although health is important the fear of allergic reaction seems significantly important! "

The Original JD wrote on Apr 10, 2008 3:19 PM:

" This solves nothing. Kids need to be taught by their parents how to eat healthy, and led by example by the same parents. Since kids only eat 1 meal at the school, the impact on their lives by this action will be minimal at best. This is just another example of a feel good law that results in nothing by creating the illusion of change. "

rdbrdfn wrote on Apr 10, 2008 3:17 PM:

" Why is it that the government figures we cannot raise out own children nowadays? Decisions like that should be up to parents. The frigging government needs to keep it's big nose out of family affairs. "
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