LOS ANGELES, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Los Angeles County on Tuesday launched a campaign to drive trans-fat food, which is blamed for triggering heart diseases, out of the restaurants in the region.

    Under an agreement between the county and the Californian Restaurants Association (CRA), 34,000 restaurants will be encouraged to phase out trans-fat food over the next 18 months.

    Los Angeles County restaurants that voluntarily stop using the partially hydrogenated oil will receive a decal that can be put up at the establishment based on certification by the health department of the county, according to the program.

    Health officials also plan to convene a task force to educate the public on the harmful effects of the substance, and instruct eateries in county buildings to limit the amounts of trans-fat in food.

    A spokesman for the CRA said he supports the effort to replace trans-fat ingredients.

    "Our industry has been actively moving away from trans fat for quite some time now," said Andrew Casana with the Los Angeles Chapter of the CRA.

    "I don't think a day goes by where we don't see a new chain say that they've found a new oil that is trans-fat-free."

    County officials had hoped to regulate the use of trans-fat ingredients by eateries, but a report by the Department of Public Health found only the state can regulate what eateries cook with.

    "We have to protect the citizens of Los Angeles County," said Yvonne B. Burke, supervisor of the health department. "They depend upon our public health facilities, they depend upon our ability to look at restaurants to make sure those restaurants are clean, but they also depend on us to develop the kind of guidelines that will ensure that when you go into a facility ... you know what you're buying."

    The Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to support the voluntary effort, as did the Los Angeles City Council.

    "Trans-fats are bad for us and they can and should be eliminated from our food," said Councilman Jose Huizar. "Scientific and health communities agree that trans-fats are toxic. In fact, we know they contribute to high levels of bad cholesterol and low levels of good cholesterol."

    Trans-fat, often found in margarine, shortenings, baked goods and fried food, is believed to increase the risk of coronary heart disease. It is also thought to increase a person's level of bad cholesterol.

    Trans-fat intake contributes to 30,000 heart disease-related deaths in the United States every year, said public health director Dr. Jonathan Fielding.

    But replacing trans-fat with another oil will not reduce the number of calories or fat in food, Fielding said.

    "This will have no impact on the greatest epidemic we have in Los Angeles County -- overweight and obesity," Fielding said.

    "What we're talking about with trans-fat is substituting one fat for another and this really needs to be the beginning of a dialogue with consumers about reducing fat overall."

    In response to the L.A. County report, Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, drafted a bill that would give local governments the power to regulate eateries. The bill is likely to be discussed by the Assembly in March, officials said.

    New York City, Philadelphia and Chicago have made similar attempts to ban or restrict the use of trans-fat.

    In New York, a plan has been developed to eliminate the use of the partially hydrogenated oil by mid-2008. The current regulation says food items must contain less than 0.5 grams of trans-fat per serving.