Other cities are likely to follow New York's forthcoming ban of trans fats from restaurants which has cemented the city's reputation as a testing ground for aggressive public health policy. New York's 24,000 establishments have six months to stop frying in oils containing trans fats and 18 months to eliminate them from baked goods. The Department of Nutrition at Harvard University School of Public Health said once a couple of big cities banned them, the big food companies and restaurants would have to remove them across the whole of the US because they could not afford to have different supplies for different places. But the National Restaurant Association said the limited timetable and supply problem would mean many of the restaurants would have no choice but to switch to oils high in saturated fats. McDonald's says it has been testing alternative oil blends for five years but has yet to find one that is satisfactory although it was "very encouraged".  Junior's, famous for its decadent cheesecakes, said the new cooking oils were slightly more costly but as it had three restaurants in New York, the cost was not a big deal. Financial Times 09/12/06 page 7