CORRECTION APPENDED (SEE BELOW)In an effort to provide healthful dining choices, Aramark and Brandeis have worked together to ensure that foods are now fried in oil that does not contain trans-fatty acids, and the company is trying to offer more foods that do not contain unhealthy oils.

Trans fats, a type of unsaturated fat, have been linked to increased levels of cholesterol and heart disease. Campus nutritionist Laura O'Gara said trans fats contribute to the formation of plaque on the artery walls.

Fryolaters cooking french fries, chicken fingers and fried fish in the Usdan Caf and Boulevard replaced their regular cooking oil last week with the more healthful oil, RTI MaxLife ZeroT, said O'Gara.

Dining Services Director Michael Newmark said all of Usdan had been converted Monday and Sherman products will be cooked in the more healthful oil by the end of the week.

"Our mission is to give healthier options to the Brandeis community," said Senator for the Class of 2010 Jenna Brofsky, who co-chairs the Dining Services Committee.

At the beginning of last semester, oils used for sauteing and oils placed at salad bars were replaced with canola oil, another trans fat-free alternative.

O'Gara and representatives from Aramark have been working closely with the Dining Services Committee, which is composed of seven undergraduate students.

Committee member and Village Quad Senator Adam Breiterman '07 said he is glad that the school is "one step closer to help[ing] students maintain healthy lifestyles."

O'Gara said students started requesting trans-fat free options since getting rid of trans-fats because the health craze among nutritionists and doctors. The New York City Board of Health voted last month to prohibit restaurants from cooking with more than a small amount of trans fats, and Massachusetts and Chicago are considering similar moves.

When the committee brought their suggestions to Aramark, students found that the company was already evaluating how much trans fat was used in their products, so they had similar goals, Brieterman said.

Many of the oils previously used in the dining halls contained large amounts of trans fats, a common factor in processed foods. The body cannot properly process these fats and is unable to distinguish them from animal fat, such as that on a steak, O'Gara said.

Breiterman said the committee is also working to post ingredients and nutritional facts near the stations in dining halls so students can be aware of how many calories and fat grams they are ingesting.

Yet not all foods will be free of trans fats, Newmark said. "Keep in mind this [new oil] does not mean our foods are 100 percent trans fat-free. Certain products we fry already have trans fat in them before they go into fryers."

As the next step in bringing more trans fat-free foods to campus, O'Gara said she is working with the baker to reduce trans fats used in baked goods.

But O'Gara said trans fats appear in baked goods as shortening, which does not have a simple trans fat-free substitute.

(CORRECTION: Because of an editing error, the article incorrectly defined the term "trans fats." Trans fats are unsaturated, not saturated.)