Lieu Legislation to Ban Trans Fats from School Lunches Passes Out of Assembly Education Committee 7-1

 (Sacramento, CA) – AB 90 (Lieu & Huffman), a bill that would ban trans fats in public school foods passed through the Assembly Education Committee by a vote of 7-1. 

“Trans fats are devastating to the human heart,” said Lieu, father of two young children. “Students have no choice of food while on campus.  They either eat or go hungry.  Because government operates our public schools and provides the meals, it is the role and responsibility of government to provide children with healthy and nutritious food.”

The State of California has an epidemic of unhealthy children.  This growing epidemic is, in large part, due to poor diets and physical inactivity among our youth, putting more and more children at risk for type 2 diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. 

Trans fats are not naturally occurring fats.  They are primarily found in processed food when vegetable oils are hydrogenated, creating such products as vegetable shortenings and some margarines.  These foods are used in most fried foods and other unhealthy snacks.  Assemblymember Jared Huffman, the joint author of AB 90, presented the committee with several readily-available shortening and vegetable oils that do not include trans fat, including Crisco. 

“We have known since the 1950s that early artery disease can be found in young adults,” said Dr. Harold Goldstein, Executive Director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, “and evidence continues to mount that the presence of risk factors such as high cholesterol and poor diet, during childhood and adolescence, is directly related to artery disease in adulthood.”

AB 90 is separate and distinct from steps taken in cities like New York and Chicago to ban trans fat, because it is focused on public schools.  Lieu points out that, unlike adults who can choose what foods to eat in a restaurant, school children are captive to what is served in the cafeteria.

AB 90 will be referred to the Assembly Committee on Health in the next few weeks.