June 12, 2008

Massachusetts goes ahead with statewide trans ban – The Massachusetts House of Representatives has approved a ban on trans fat. The legislation was filed by Public Health Committee Chairman Rep. Peter Koutoujian, and is now headed to the Senate.

If the bill becomes law, it would require restaurants across the state to eliminate by 2010 foods containing vegetable shortening, margarine or any partially hydrogenated vegetable oil unless the amount of trans fat is under 0.5 grams per serving. Massachusetts would be the first state in the US to ban trans fat.

For more on the story, go to: http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2008/06/11/news/3269891.txt

Saskatchewan biodiesel plant finds a home – Canadian Green Fuels Inc. has announced it will build its new biodiesel plant in McLean, SK, about 40 km east of Regina, following an environmental assessment.

The fledgling company has not yet purchased the land, but it has made an offer to purchase. The new plant and an upgrade to its Regina processing facility will allow Canadian Green Fuels to produce about 200 million litres of biodiesel a year using off-grade canola oil. The company anticipates breaking ground later this month or in early July.

For more details, visit: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/local/story.html?id=645d50c6-3cf3-446e-b31c-0779c7646850

Double dipping into the canola oil pool – Green Fuels of Oregon, a biodiesel company in Klamath, OR, has received a grant to look at the possibility of producing canola oil to sell to restaurants for deep frying, which they would recollect and turn into biodiesel. The idea is that the company would profit twice from the same product.

To view a video of the story, click on: http://www.kdrv.com/article.aspx?id=39996

Canola helps bust the myths on fats – Columnist Herb Denenberg of The Bulletin, a Philadelphia newspaper, is helping to spread the truth about good vs. bad fats. In a June 11 column posted online, Denenberg writes:

"Myth: Fat is bad and should be avoided and minimized to the extent possible.
Reality: Some fats, such as trans fats and saturated fats, are bad for you. But many fats are good for you, such as olive oil, canola oil, some of the other vegetable oil, nuts and the oil in salmon, sardines and other oily fish. But note that trans fats are a disaster for your health, so avoid them. If the ingredients include partially hydrogenated vegetable oil or vegetable shortening, that means the food has trans fat. But the label may also specifically name trans fat."

For more of Denenberg’s column, go to: http://www.thebulletin.us/site/index.cfm?newsid=19763793&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=8

Canola spokesperson under TV’s big top – Janet Evans, CanolaInfo’s new spokesperson and an Olympic medalist and world record holder in swimming, will have weekly international exposure as she joins a group of celebrities as a contestant in NBC’s Celebrity Circus. The first episode aired June 11. To keep Evans around, vote for her on the NBC website at: http://www.nbc.com/Celebrity_Circus/

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