Terminating trans fats for fitness

By Vivian Yun, contributing writer
Posted on September 4, 2007

Students are in for a tasty change when they enter dining locations on campus. Dining services is now using zero-trans-fat oil, defined by the FDA as 0.5 grams per serving or less, in all dining locations on campus instead of a combination of vegetable oils.

“This action came in response to research conducted by Aramark that shows consumers are more concerned than ever with their intake of trans fats,” Director of Dining Services Stephanie Hoshower said. “And it is part of Aramark’s ongoing commitment to provide a wide range of healthy choices for customers.”

By February 2007, all JMU Dining Services locations offered fried items using non-hydrogenated corn and sunflower oil containing zero grams of trans fats except Chick-fil-A and Market One. Chick-fil-A and Market One used peanut oil, which contains zero grams of trans fat.

In annual surveys conducted at JMU by Dining Services, students have shown an interest in eating healthier.

“I want to improve my daily life, health and benefits,” sophomore Erin Flint said. “I’d feel better about myself.”

Saturated and trans fats can increase blood cholesterol levels and the risk of heart disease, said Hoshower, and according to 2005 dietary guideline, Americans should limit their intakes of foods that contain fats and oils high in saturated and trans fats. 

Many students feel that there are benefits to this change. “I think it’s great to try to make the campus healthier,” sophomore Jennifer Specht said. “It’s the only option we have when we have 14 meal punches to eat on campus.

Hoshower said that [dining services] are glad that JMU students want healthy options and that they are committed to finding and providing for [the students].

“We don’t just serve JMU students, we care about them,” she said. “It is fulfilling for us to be able to offer delicious food while helping manage the consumption of trans fats.”

In addition to this change, there was an additional cost of the product, but the cost was not passed on to the students.

According to Hoshower all of Aramark’s 400 higher education dining locations have converted to zero trans fat oil.

“It’s a better choice because students can learn how to live a healthier lifestyle, freshman H.J. Moon said. “This will help the rest of the community better themselves.”