About the same time an anti-trans fat organization sued Kraft Foods in 2003, the mega company eliminated trans fat from its cookie and subsequently reduced or removed it from 650 of its products. By the time the Food and Drug Administration required the amount of trans fat to be listed on food labels in January, only 2.5 percent of Kraft foods were required to bear them.

"Kraft was smart to see the writing on the wall," said Stephen Joseph, an attorney and CEO of BanTransFats.com, which filed the lawsuit. "And, they did the right thing."

Others are following.

Next year, the Atlanta-based Arby's restaurant chain will remove all trans fat cooking oil from its french fries. Doug Jarmen, Arby's Sandy manager, said Utah customers already are demanding that trans fats be removed, "so this is a very good thing."

On Dec. 5, New York City became the first major metropolitan city to phase out trans fat from restaurants, eateries and fast-food outlets, and Chicago is considering a similar ban. In May 2005, the first city to impose voluntary restrictions was Tiburon, Calif.

Joseph, who had helped the northern California town enlist the support of its 18 restaurants, insists larger cities must pass regulations to force restaurants and food outlets to eliminate trans fat from menus. Restaurants are not required to reveal any of their ingredients.

"How can it be a freedom of choice issue when the restaurants aren't disclosing what's in your food?" he said. "Banning trans fats in foods is like to banning, say, arsenic."

Trans fats can be found in vegetable shortening, some margarines, crackers, candies, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, baked products, salad dressings and other processed foods. The chemical ingredient has been linked to heart attacks, stokes, obesity and diabetes.

According to the American Heart Association, trans fat contributes to heart disease, the No. 1 killer of both men and women in America. In 2002, heart disease had a negative economic impact of $214 billion on the nation's economy - including $115 billion in direct medical costs.

Trans and saturated fats also contribute heavily to obesity, one of America's fastest-growing diseases. Each year, 300,000 Americans die from diseases associated with obesity, say Health and Human Services officials. Being overweight or obese can lead to other diseases such as diabetes, which afflicts 17 million Americans and kills 200,000 each year.

The Heart Association recommends limiting your daily intake of trans fats to 1 percent of total calories, the equivalent to about 2 to 2.5 grams of trans fats per day.

But compare that recommendation with a large order of french fries at McDonald's, which contains 8 grams of trans fat, or a KFC biscuit with 3.5 grams of trans fat or its chicken pot pie at 14 grams, according to their Web sites. Still, McDonald's, KFC and other national food chains are beginning to offer healthier food on their menus and they list all ingredients and nutritional information, including the amount of trans fat, on their Web sites.

In October KFC announced it was converting all of its 5,500 restaurants in the United States to a "zero trans fat cooking oil." The conversion, following two years of test testing, is scheduled to be completed by April, 2007. KFC President Gregg Dedrick said there would be no change in the taste of the chicken and other food items.

Taste is important. On the day of KFC's announcement, customers were fighting to find a parking space at Harman's Cafe, the world's first KFC franchise in South Salt Lake City. Said Aaron Lee before placing an order: "This is a nice bonus. I like that chicken." Added Guy Timothy, "I don't worry because I'm lean and mean."

Trans fats aren't new, unlike awareness of their ill effects on Americans' health. Trans fats were first introduced in vegetable shortening early last century. But the Food and Drug Administration did not evaluate the ingredient for long-term health effects because trans fats were used in foods before the agency was created in 1958.

During the past several years, the agency has recognized the chemical and physiological differences between saturated and trans fat, prompting new food labeling requirements that went into effect this year.

"Trans fats are bad fats," said then Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson before the labeling law was enacted. "The less trans fat you and I eat, the healthier we will be."

Trans fat facts

* If a food label lists shortening, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil or hydrogenated vegetable oil, it contains trans fat. If you see those words in the ingredients list, don't believe labels that say zero trans fats, which can mean less than .5 grams per serving.

* Sometimes products with labels from outside the United States contain partially hydrogenated oil, but it's not listed.

* Ask whether restaurants, bakeries and other eateries use partially hydrogenated oil for frying, baking or in salad dressings. Unless you know otherwise, assume all unlabeled baked and fried goods contain partially hydrogenated oil.

* If a product is "cholesterol free," that doesn't mean that it won't raise your "bad" cholesterol. If the product contains no cholesterol but it contains trans fat or saturated fat, it will raise your "bad" cholesterol.

* Remember that polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fats are "good" fats.

Source: BanTransFats.com, Inc.

What is trans fat?

* Trans fat is different from other types of fat in that it most often is man-made. It is created when vegetable oil is "hydrogenated," meaning hydrogen gas is bubbled through liquid vegetable oil, changing its chemical configuration and making it thicker in consistency.

Why is it bad for your health?

* It increases the risk of developing coronary artery disease. Foods containing trans fat raise the body's level of the most dangerous form of cholesterol, LDL, while lowering the protective form of blood cholesterol, HDL.