What's happening
This bill prohibits restaurants and food establishments in New York from serving, storing, or selling foods containing artificial trans fat.
Why it matters
Targets a wide range of food businesses. The ban extends beyond restaurants to include mobile food vendors, retail food stores, and commissaries. This could significantly reshape food sourcing and preparation practices across New York, affecting both chains and small businesses.
Defines "artificial trans fat" broadly but with practical limits. Any food with labeled or listed partially hydrogenated oils, margarine, or shortening is covered, but foods with less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving (per labeling) are exempt. Only naturally occurring trans fats (e.g., in dairy or meat) are excluded, reducing confusion for businesses and consumers.
Mandates new compliance and documentation rules. The health commissioner will set up recordkeeping requirements and consult with local governments to align regulations. This means establishments will need to keep track of ingredient sources and possibly reformulate or switch suppliers, adding administrative and operational tasks.
Sets a uniform state standard but preserves stricter local laws. While the bill stops new, stricter local bans from being passed after its enactment, it allows any tougher local laws already in effect to remain. This creates a baseline of protection statewide but acknowledges existing strongholds of local regulation, potentially leading to varied enforcement and standards across New York.
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Who cares
Restaurants, mobile food vendors and retail food stores
The bill would prohibit storing, preparing, serving or selling covered foods containing artificial trans fat, with exceptions including qualifying foods sold in manufacturers’ original sealed packages.
State Department of Health
The commissioner would have to issue recordkeeping and documentation rules and develop compliance guidelines recommending healthier alternatives.
County and municipal governments
The bill would restrict stricter local trans fat standards while preserving local restrictions adopted before it becomes law.
Restaurant and food establishment representatives
The health commissioner would have to consult them before issuing compliance rules.
Headline styles
Ban Artificial Trans Fats
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
14 Co-sponsors
3 Multi-sponsors
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2873
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 28, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. ORTIZ, GALEF, ABINANTI, MOSLEY, GOTTFRIED -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. FAHY, THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to prohibiting certain restaurants and food establishments from serving foods containing artificial trans fat
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 1352-f to read as follows:
§ 1352-f. Artificial trans fat; prohibition. 1. No food containing artificial trans fat, as defined in this section, shall be stored, distributed, held for service, used in preparation of any menu item, served or sold in any restaurants, food service establishments, mobile food service establishments, mobile food service establishment commissaries, retail food stores as defined in section five hundred of the agriculture and markets law, and other food establishments, subject to the provisions of section thirteen hundred fifty-one of this title, except food that is served or sold directly to patrons in a manufacturer's original sealed package that bears a nutrition facts label consistent with federal law and regulation.
2. For the purposes of this section, a food shall be deemed to contain artificial trans fat if the food is labeled as, lists as an ingredient, or contains vegetable shortening, margarine or any kind of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. However, a food whose nutrition facts label or other documentation from the manufacturer lists the trans fat content of the food as less than 0.5 grams per serving shall not be deemed to contain artificial trans fat. This section shall not apply to foods containing only naturally occurring trans fat.
3. The commissioner is authorized and directed to promulgate rules and regulations for recordkeeping and documentation by restaurants and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07083-01-9
A. 2873 2
food establishments subject to this section necessary for compliance with the provisions of this section. The commissioner shall consult with representatives of restaurants and food establishments, any county or municipal health departments that have similar laws or regulations and the commissioner of agriculture and markets, prior to promulgating any such rules or regulations and, to the maximum extent practicable, incorporate similar rules and regulations already adopted by such local governments. The commissioner shall develop guidelines, including recommendations for healthier alternatives to artificial trans fat, to assist restaurants and food establishments in complying with the provisions of this section. Such guidelines shall be made available to restaurants and food establishments upon request and shall be provided on the department's internet website.
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of section thirteen hundred fiftythree of this title, the penalty for a violation of this section shall be limited to the penalty set forth in section twelve of this chapter.
5. The provisions of this section shall restrict the power of any county, city, town or village to adopt and enforce additional local laws, ordinances or regulations that are more stringent than the standards set forth in this section and the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, except that any local law, ordinance or regulation restricting artificial trans fat adopted by any county or city, or department or agency thereof, or town or village prior to the date this section shall have become a law shall not be preempted by this section.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.