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.169313.1
HOUSE MEMORIAL 87
48
TH LEGISLATURE
- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -
FIRST SESSION
, 2007
INTRODUCED BY
Irvin Harrison
A MEMORIAL
REQUESTING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT BOARD TO STUDY WAYS TO
IDENTIFY THE TRANS FAT CONTENT IN RESTAURANT FOOD AND CONVEY
THIS INFORMATION TO CUSTOMERS AND TO DEVELOP GUIDELINES FOR USE
OF TRANS FATS.
WHEREAS, trans fat is a chemically created fat that is
unhealthy for human consumption; and
WHEREAS, trans fat consumption should be kept as low as
possible, according to the 2005 dietary guidelines for
Americans, the American heart association, the American
diabetes association, the world health organization and the
national cholesterol education program; and
WHEREAS, consumption of trans fat raises bad cholesterol
levels and lowers good cholesterol levels, causing arteries to
become clogged and increasing the risk of developing heart
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.169313.1
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disease and stroke, and is linked to obesity; and
WHEREAS, heart disease is the number one killer in the
nation and New Mexico; and
WHEREAS, the annual death rate for heart disease in New
Mexico is one hundred seventy-seven per one hundred thousand
people, and at least sixty percent of New Mexico adults are
overweight or obese; and
WHEREAS, at least twenty-seven percent of New Mexico high
school students and twenty-four percent of children aged two to
five are overweight; and
WHEREAS, obesity acquired during childhood and adolescence
is likely to persist into adulthood and increase the risk for a
number of chronic diseases; and
WHEREAS, the food and drug administration now requires
food companies to list trans fat content separately on the
nutrition panel of all packaged foods, and nutrition labels now
list any measurable amount of trans fat in a separate line on
the total fat section under saturated fat; and
WHEREAS, trans fats used in cooking are not as easily
assessed as those on packaged food labels; and
WHEREAS, lawmakers in at least thirteen states and
numerous cities have enacted or introduced some kind of trans
fat legislation; and
WHEREAS, some restaurant chains have voluntarily
eliminated trans fats, as have the Ohio state university campus
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.169313.1
and the girl scouts;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the
environmental improvement board be requested to study ways to
identify the trans fat content in restaurant food and to convey
this information to customers; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the environmental improvement
board be requested to develop workable guidelines for the
restaurant industry on ridding foods of trans fat and on
recommended limits of trans fat content; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
transmitted to the chair of the environmental improvement
board, the secretary of health and the New Mexico restaurant
association.
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