Oct. 28, 2010 /EIN Presswire/ – Since Baltimore’s trans fat ban went into effect a year ago, the city has issued more than 100 warnings, but now it has levied its first environmental citation for repeated violations.
The city’s health department cracked down on Healthy Choice, a facility charged with serving margarine whose fat was in excess of what the law permits.
The law bans food facilities from serving or selling non-prepackaged food items containing 0.5 grams or more of trans fats. Healthy Choice was found serving margarine 4 times that amount.
Trans fats are artificial fats that are known to elevate bad cholesterol and cause heart disease, according to health officials. Studies have indicated that trans fats are responsible for as many as 30,000 premature deaths in the U.S. each year.
Health Department agents said that if restaurants don’t make changes after a citation is issued, the establishment could be shut down.
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