Margarine was the main culprit for the cluster of Big Apple eateries that were the first to be hit with fines for violating the city’s new ban on trans fats, The Post has learned.
Twenty restaurants were issued trans-fat violations between Oct. 1 and Oct. 5, the first period of time when the city Health Department began fining restaurants.
Five were in Manhattan; the rest were in Brooklyn and Queens.
Officials noted that 20 is a small percentage of the 504 inspections that were conducted, meaning that 96 percent of those surveyed were in compliance with the heart-healthy policy.
The trans-fat ban took effect July 1, but restaurateurs had a three-month grace period before being penalized.
The fines ranged from $200 to $2,000, and all the restaurant owners are entitled to challenge the summonses at hearings.
Nearly all of the ticketed eateries were cited for using trans-fat-laden margarine.
Only one, Ballato on East Houston Street, which has hosted the likes of Sophia Loren, Roberto Benigni and Daniel Day-Lewis, was cited for using oils that lacked proper labels about the trans-fat content.
Owner Emilio Vitolo said he’ll fight the summons because the oil in question was peanut oil – one that doesn’t contain the offending fats. He insisted that he never uses trans fats in preparing his meals.
Workers at nearly every restaurant contacted by The Post said the infractions were for stray containers of spreads or oils that hadn’t been tossed out – and they insisted their cooking is trans-fat-free.
“I didn’t know [the new rules] applied to bakeries as of yet,” said Rajandra Mahase, owner of Little Guyana Bake Shop in Queens.
Other restaurants cited included Bardolino, Giggles and Labeleca Pizza in Manhattan, First Oasis, Alex Deli and Grocery, New Millenium Restaurant and Asia Restaurant in Brooklyn, and Good Fortune Coming, Los Amigos Mexican restaurant and Rocco’s Pizza in Queens.