To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will consider the merits of banning trans fats in restaurants; what representations he has received on this issue; and if he will make a statement.

In October 2007 the Food Standards Agency (FSA) was asked to review the health impacts of trans fats and potential for action in light of the measures taken in New York and Denmark. As part of this review, the FSA sought the advice of the United Kingdom's independent Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, which examined the most recent evidence on the health implications of trans fats. The FSA recommended that mandatory restrictions on trans fats were unnecessary as voluntary measures undertaken by the industry, including the restaurant sector, had reduced average population intakes of trans fats to very low levels that are around half the maximum recommended average intake.