Va. Senate Backs Phaseout of Trans Fats in School Food

RICHMOND, Jan. 29 -- The Virginia Senate voted unanimously Tuesday to phase out the use of artery-clogging trans fats in food sold at public schools, from the cheese pizza in the cafeteria to the chips in the vending machine.

The bill would direct the state superintendent of public instruction to develop guidelines for the elimination of the additive, which has been associated with heart disease, in meals and snacks sold during school hours.

The legislation would not impose a deadline, but lawmakers would follow the issue to ensure that public schoolchildren have healthier food, said Sen. John S. Edwards (D-Roanoke), the bill's sponsor.

"So much of the food children eat is from the school system, so the system ought to be providing nutritious and trans fat-free food," he said.

A similar bill passed the Senate last year but died in a House of Delegates subcommittee.

Trans fats are of concern to nutrition experts because they contribute to artery problems and heart disease. Overweight children are developing signs of heart disease and diabetes at earlier ages, experts say. Trans fats, which can negatively affect cholesterol levels, are often found in margarine and many vegetable shortenings, cookies, chips and fried foods.

Childhood obesity is a growing problem nationally and in the region, experts say. The prevalence of overweight children ages 6 to 11 more than doubled in the past 20 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the rate among 12- to 19-year-olds more than tripled.

Over the past year, dozens of municipalities and school systems across the country have moved to ban or limit trans fats in restaurants and school cafeterias, including in New York and Philadelphia.

The Montgomery County Council approved a trans fat ban last spring. It took effect this month for restaurants, schools and religious institutions and will apply to places offering baked items, other than packaged goods made outside the county, next January.

Kathleen C. Lazor, director of the division of food and nutrition services for Montgomery's public schools, said the system began voluntarily to phase out food with trans fats more than two years ago. The only items that remain on the menu are turkey tenders distributed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The federal government is working with the manufacturer to eliminate trans fats from the breading, she said.

Trans fat policies vary by school district, the School Nutrition Association said. Some say no more than 10 percent of calories over one week of lunch menus should come from trans fat or saturated fat. Others require labeling on menus or limiting trans fat to no more than 1 gram per serving. Such limits generally apply to an array of foods, including lunches, a la carte items and vending machine products.

Companies that produce food for school systems are gradually responding to such limits, adding trans fat-free chips and other offerings, experts and dieticians said.

Penny McConnell, a registered dietician and director of food and nutrition services for the Fairfax County public schools, said the system has also been phasing out foods with trans fats in the past 18 months. Five items with trans fat levels above the federal standard of 0.5 grams a serving remain on the menu: the noodles on a Chinese salad, cheese sauce for the high schoolers' nachos, a croissant and two cookies. She will have to search for replacements for those items if a statewide ban is enacted, she said.

She cautioned that enacting the limits statewide would probably take time, particularly in smaller school districts that have not done much research on the problem. It's sometimes hard to find substitutes that will appeal to the finicky tastes of children and teens, experts say. McConnell recently spent more than a year, including consulting with students on tasting panels, searching for the right popcorn and low-fat ice cream that would apply to statewide guidelines on fat, sodium and sugar content and appeal to kids.

However, she said, the legislature's move is a positive step.

"It's the right thing to do," McConnell said. She hoped the measure would expand to cover other providers, such as hospitals or colleges, "but this is a good starting point."