Trans fat survey and its implication on the findings and recommendations of the Pennsylvania trans fat task force

As evidence regarding the negative health implications of trans fats continues to mount, some states and municipalities have begun enacting legislation to ban or severely curtail their use. Before enacting similar legislation in Pennsylvania in 2007, the Commonwealth created the Pennsylvania Trans Fat Task Force- a panel of government officials; food manufacturing; foodservice and restaurant industry representatives; academic researchers; health advocates; and public education officials-to research the health effects of trans fats and recommend appropriate courses of legislative/policy actions. During the Task Force's first meeting, it decided that education, not legislation, was the route that Pennsylvania needed to follow. After making that decision, the Task Force decided to conduct a survey to assess Pennsylvania citizens' knowledge of trans fat and determine the content/scope of educational materials to be created. This article discusses the methodology/findings of that survey and the subsequent recommendations spawned from those findings.