The Clean Plate Club Restaurant Group which operates Pete Miller’s Seafood & Prime Steak, Davis Street Fishmarket, and Merle’s #1 Barbecue reports it has completely eliminated trans fats from all menu items.

In a news release the restaurant group said the decision to eliminate trans fats goes beyond a proposed Chicago ordinance that would require restaurants to limit trans fat content to 2 percent of total fat as well as a proposed New York City ordinance. It also exceeds the effort of other restaurants that have banned trans fats in all but non-dessert items.

The New York Times reported this month that the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine has concluded that the optimal intake of trans fats is zero. And nutrition researcher Dr. Walter Willett at Harvard University has estimated that if artificially produced trans fats were removed from the American diet, up to 228,000 heart attacks could be prevented each year.

The Clean Plate Club's owner also disputes claims that current supplies of alternative oils are too limited and costly and that restaurants would struggle to comply with any imposed restrictions.

Owner Larry Huber says the restaurant group started its path to trans-fat free more than 18 months ago.

“We started with changing to trans fat free oil in our fryers and found no difference in taste or accessibility to purchase the oil,” Mr. Huber said. “The only issue is the oil needs to be changed more frequently, which actually is a plus because the food comes out tasting better and fresher.”

After the group was comfortable with the new fry oil, Director of Purchasing for the Clean Plate Club, Sarah Andrews, says that it took some effort to become totally trans fat free.

“We definitely had to push our vendors to search hard for acceptable alternatives. And we had to do a lot of taste testing but we found items that were at least as good if not better. The bane of my existence for awhile was finding a replacement for one of our novelty items at the Davis Street Fishmarket: Tater Tots. If we can serve a trans fat free tater tot that our customers love as much as the old one, anything can be done.”

Executive Chef Eardley Firth of Pete Miller’s believes that keeping a trans fat free menu is simply good business and welcomes the challenge, “As a chef, flavor is most important but I quickly realized that trans fat free really can mean better and fresher.”

With the rise in public awareness and potential government regulations on trans fats, the Clean Plate Club looks at the issue as an opportunity, not a restriction.

Pete Miller’s Seafood & Prime Steak is located at 1557 Sherman Ave. in Evanston and at 412 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Wheeling. Davis Street Fishmarket is located at 501 Davis St. in Evanston. Merle’s #1 Barbecue is located at 1727 Benson Ave. in Evanston.