LOS ANGELES The Los Angeles chapter of the California Restaurant Association reportedly has agreed to a voluntary phase-out of artificial trans fats by local restaurants within 18 months.
Under the agreement, which has been embraced as an alternative to a trans-fat ban, Los Angeles County officials could provide decals that restaurants could post in their windows to indicate which establishments are trans-fat-free. The CRA chapter includes only a few thousand of the more than 34,000 restaurants in Los Angeles County, according to the Los Angeles Times. Some observers have wondered how many restaurants will abide by the agreement when so few are members of the group that forged the pact.
County lawmakers looked into imposing a ban on the use of trans fats, but determined that only the state had such authority. State legislation that would ban the use of trans fats in restaurants has been proposed by Republican assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia.
