A bill aimed at reducing the risk of heart disease among Baltimore residents was unanimously approved by the City Council yesterday, action that almost guarantees final passage of a ban on trans fats in restaurant food at a final reading Monday.
"This will help to protect our children's health," said Councilwoman Agnes Welch, a sponsor of the bill who has promoted it as part of a larger effort to reduce childhood obesity.
The bill needs Mayor Sheila Dixon's signature to become law. A spokesman for Dixon, who is known to follow an intense fitness regimen, said she backs the ban.
Baltimore follows in the footsteps of Philadelphia, New York City and Montgomery County in trying to remove trans fats from restaurant menus. In Baltimore, the ban would prohibit any prepared food containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oil such as shortening or margarine.
Trans fats, often found in oils used for fast food and packaged snacks, can clog arteries and lead to heart disease. The American Heart Association suggests that people limit trans fats to less than 1 percent of daily caloric intake.
The council's Public Safety and Health Committee voted 3-0 to advance the bill to the full council March 4, after a two-hour public hearing.
"It was a very good hearing," Councilman Bernard C. "Jack" Young, the chairman of the committee, reported at the council meeting. "It was the longest one for the year so far, and there were a lot of things that came out of that meeting, including information about why the food I eat in some restaurants doesn't taste so good."
Since the committee hearing, the legislation was amended slightly to set the proposed law's start date at 18 months after the mayor's signature, not 12 months, Young said. He said penalties would be set by the city Health Department.
lynn.anderson@baltsun.com