Six-Week-Old Cannolis

In her Philadelphia Inquirer column today, Monica Yant Kinney covered the absurdity that is the proposed trans-fat ban in Philadelphia. Specifically, the exemption sought by Mom-and-Pop establishments.

Philadelphians love their traditions, and my family is no exception. Around the holidays, my parents schlep home bricks of Stock's pound cake and boxes of Szypula's chrusciki to fuel our holiday sugar-rush.

And from time to time, I venture to South Philly to procure lovely meats and fresh-made cheeses (I'm looking at you, Claudio's, with that heavenly mozzarella), finishing it off with stops at some of the area's finest pastry shops. One example in Kinney's coverage included reports that Isgro's -- purveyor of fine cannolis -- boils up its cannolis in trans fat up to six weeks before they're sold!

To me, this is behavior of a bakery behemoth more concerned with prolonging shelf life than creating good food with a history. That's definitely not what I was looking for in my quest to support local establishments.

Here's the bottom line: If trans fats are so problematic, they must banned from all use in food, outright. Everywhere. Period.

Mom-and-Pop establishments have no room for self-righteousness. If they're so small and local and concerned with maintaining a tradition of quality, then why am I eating six-week-old cannolis?