"Six days before the first pitch of 2007 is thrown at Safeco Field, the Seattle Mariners are promising that most of the food served at the baseball stadium this season -- the team says up to 80 percent -- will be free of trans fats."

"The move to more healthful ballpark fare follows a trend away from the artery-clogging hydrogenated oils that have been ubiquitous in the fast-food industry for decades. Safeco's concessionaire, Centerplate Catering, has been working on plans to send trans fats to the showers since last fall."

"It announced plans to use trans-fat-free shortening products in January, but the transition has been a little slippery for some subcontracting vendors at Safeco Field, including a couple of fan favorites. While Ivar's and Kidd Valley, maker of the popular Safeco Field garlic fries, quit cooking with hydrogenated oils nearly two years ago at their restaurants around the Puget Sound area, the company that owns both chains isn't quite ready to make the switch at the ballpark."

""When our contacts at Safeco approached us last November and asked what it would take to move to a zero-trans-fat product, we started testing, but we haven't yet found a product that will work," said Carrie Schneider, general manager for Ivar's Sports and Entertainment at Safeco Field."

""We're working with a volume of food that's three or four times higher than any of our outside stores," Schneider said. "On a busy day at Safeco, like Opening Day, we're cranking through 500 entrees in four or five hours. That's a ton of food.""

"Though trans fats have become dirty words in the food business, hydrogenated oils are highly valued for their stability. Some trans fats occur naturally, but most are created as a side effect of partial hydrogenation of plant oils. Partial hydrogenation -- the addition of hydrogen to alter the fat's properties -- is valued by high-volume food processors because it raises the melting point, reduces rancidity and prolongs shelf life. But the process also changes some of the fat to so-called trans fat, which has been shown to increase the risk of heart disease."

""Of course, we want to offer our fans the best-tasting, healthiest foods," Schneider said. "It's a huge concern. But when you're working with the kind of volume we do at Safeco, the oil starts to break
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