the buzz log

Samoas, Peanut Butter Patties, and those oh-so-addictive Thin Mints. Girl Scout cookies never met an artery they couldn't clog.

Until now. The pushers in khakis and polos are taking the cookie market hostage once again as they move their product into the top 7,000 searches. But for the first time in 90 years of sales, the girl scouts have squeezed the trans fat out of their addictive confections.

Trans fat has replaced smoking as the whipping boy among health watchdogs, and a spate of lawsuits and food labeling changes have spurred a clean-up at food companies and restaurant chains.

Naturally, with the Big Apple's restaurant ban (effective in July), New Yorkers lead queries on the nasty unsaturated fat, followed by California, home to the first trans fat-free city and theme park. But interest in partial hydrogenation has peaked across the nation, including Ohio (where jailbirds have been cut off from eating doughnuts—nope, no cop jokes here), Massachusetts (considering its own ban) and Georgia (as a southwest chain aims for zero trans).

With the trans sucked out of their fat, are the Girl Scouts' offerings more appealing? Maybe—searches are 23% higher than this same time last year, with Ohio the first in line for boxes of those tasty treats.

Filed under: Cookies, Girl Scouts, Trans Fats