Puyallup Fair jumps on the trans-fat-ban bandwagon

The next time you pull apart a sugary elephant ear, inhale a raspberry-filled scone or scarf down a Krusty Pup at the Puyallup Fair, it will be cooked with oil that's free of man-made trans fats.

The Western Washington Fair has joined King County, New York City, major restaurant chains, Safeco Field and the Indiana State Fair in limiting the artery-clogging stuff, which has been linked to heart disease and called a "poison" by King County's top health official.

Many fair vendors already converted to cooking oils free of man-made trans fats since New York City banned the substance from its restaurants last winter, said fair spokeswoman Karen LaFlamme.

With 80 percent of vendors already working with alternative ingredients to make dough smooth and fried foods extra-crispy, the time was right to complete the switch, she said. And it meshed with the fair's efforts to appeal to more appetites: Last year, vendors offered a variety of vegetarian, low-fat and low-sugar options.

"We really want to be proactive," LaFlamme said. The fair was launched in 1900 and is ranked among the world's largest. This year's fair opens Sept. 7 and runs through Sept. 23. Food prices were set before the change, LaFlamme said, and will not be affected.

Some trans fats occur naturally, in dairy products and many meats. Artificial trans fats come about when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil to make it solid, such as with shortening or hard margarine. The process makes the oil last longer and gives baked goods and commercially prepared foods a taste and texture popular with diners.

Health and nutrition groups, including the American Heart Association, have attacked partially hydrogenated and hydrogenated oils in recent years, linking them to heart disease, stroke and LDL, the so-called "bad" cholesterol.

While the fair's decree means cooking oils will be free of man-made trans fats, it falls short of King County's ban, which also requires that food and ingredients from elsewhere, such as partly cooked fries and hamburger buns, also be free of artificial trans fats.

You have to wonder, though. Are the fairgoers who devour deep-fried dough the size of a pizza pan really that concerned about their health?

Andy Klotz thinks so. He represents the Indiana State Fair, where vendors for the first time are deep frying breaded pork tenderloin, candy bars and corndogs in oil sans artificial trans fats.

"There are people who do seek out the healthier foods. Granted, if you're having a deep-fried Snickers bar, I can't imagine people are really worried about it affecting their overall health. But yeah, if there's no downside to it, why not do it?"

The Evergreen State Fair, scheduled to open Aug. 23 in Monroe, is encouraging its vendors to offer healthier choices but not calling for an all-out ban, said manager Mark Campbell.

So what does this mean for the Puyallup's hot scones, among the fair's most beloved traditions?

"It shouldn't affect it too much," said Mike Maher, head of Conifer Specialties, which has churned out scones at the fair since 1915. He predicts they'll taste just as good.

Karen Gaudette: 206-515-5618 or kgaudette@seattletimes.com