6 replies to this topic

[doug123]

News source

KFC shuns trans fats in key products
By Jerry Hirsch and Jesus Sanchez
Times Staff Writers

12:19 PM PST, October 30, 2006

Col. Sanders' secret recipe for fried chicken will still include 11 herbs and spices but the KFC fast-food chain today said it will replace one controversial ingredient: trans fat cooking oil.

The nation's largest fried chicken chain said that its 5,500 KFC restaurants will switch to a new cooking oil by April as the food industry comes under growing pressure by health advocates and consumers to reduce or eliminate the use of trans fats.

The conversion from artery clogging, partially hydrogenated oils followed two years of testing to make sure the taste of KFC's fried offerings didn't change. The switch has started at many KFC eateries and will be completed by April, said Gregg Dedrick, the chain's president.

"Trans fat has become box office poison in the food world. It is the guest you really want to leave," said Keith Ayoob, director of the nutrition clinic at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Partially hydrogenated oils are used extensively in the restaurant business because they have a long shelf life and are well suited for cooking the type of crispy, crunchy foods that are the bread and butter of the KFC menu.

Just one extra crispy chicken breast has 4½ grams of trans fat, according to KFC. A large order of popcorn chicken has 7 grams of trans fat and its pot pie contains 14 grams of trans fat.

The fat is found in abundance in partially hydrogenated oil, which is also used in many crackers, chips, cookies and baked goods that require a solid fat.

Despite the versatility and pleasing taste of the oils, there is a broad scientific consensus that trans fats are unhealthy, contributing to high cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes.

The move marks a reversal in KFC's policy. Earlier this year, the fast food chain defended itself from critics of its artery clogging menu.

"All KFC products are safe to eat and meet or exceed all government regulations," the chain said in a statement. "We provide a variety of menu choices and provide nutrition information, including trans fat values, on our website and in our restaurants so consumers can make informed choices before they purchase our products."

But even as KFC was defending its menu, researchers inside the company were working to come up with an alternative.

The hitch, Dedrick said, was to find a substitute oil that would not make KFC's chicken "any less than finger-licking good."

Working with Monsanto, the giant chemical company that is also a major developer of plant seeds, KFC found that low linolenic soybean oil fried its foods adequately without changing the flavor, Dedrick said.

Monsanto then had to demonstrate to soybean farmers that its Vistive soybean would produce a zero trans oil without any loss in yield. Without that reassurance, farmers would have been reluctant to switch over cropland to the new seed.

KFC has locked up enough production to complete the conversion and farmers are planting enough acreage to sustain the program. But without large increases in planting, it will be hard for other fast food chains to make the change using the same oil source.

Four years ago, McDonald's Corp. promised to reduce its use of trans fats but the conversion has been tripped up by taste and supply issues. Burger King Holdings Inc., Dunkin' Donuts and CKE Restaurants Inc., operator of Hardee's and Carl's Jr., all say they are looking into the issue.

KFC's sister companies, the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains, are planning similar moves, Dedrick said. All are units of Lexington, Ky.-based Yum Brands Inc.

All told, 80% of KFC's menu will be trans fat free. However, the fat can still be found in biscuits, macaroni and cheese and baked goods, where the company has not yet found a substitute.

"This is going to burnish KFC's public image and send a signal to the rest of the industry that trans fat is on its way out," said Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "KFC has shown that switching to trans fat free oils is a no-brainer for fried foods."

In June, the consumer group joined a law firm in filing a District of Columbia Superior Court lawsuit seeking to end KFC's use of partially hydrogenated oil in fried chicken and other dishes. Jacobson said the group has withdrawn from the suit, although the law firm has not dropped the issue.

"We got all that we wanted," Jacobsen said.

KFC's announcement came on the same day when a New York City Board of Health held a public hearing on proposed regulations to bar the city's restaurants from serving food containing artificial trans fats.



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jerry.hirsch@latimes.com

jesus.sanchez@latimes.com

[starr]

Vegetable oil doesn't taste as good for frying and it's not stable after being heated to high temperatures. I wonder if they considered lard but didn't go with it because it would alienate kosher/halal customers. I think lard would fry things up very nicely.

And isn't fully hydrogenated oil trans fat free?

[meatwad]

The will still be frying the food at an extreme temperature.

Will boost sales no doubt good ol PR

[mitkat]

I haven't eaten in a Kentucky Friend Cancer in over 12 years...makes no difference to me

[superpooper]

Finger lickin' bitches.

[brutale]

Fried food still won't be healthful, but trans fats are pretty uniquely destructive in their ability to elevate LDL while lowering HDL.

I think it is a positive step. Although I believe in individual liberty, I'm inclined to think NYC should ban artificial trans fats, which don't occur in nature and serve no purpose in the diet. Restaurants are not allowed to serve obviously contaminated food, or put broken glass in mixed drinks. Is the use of trans fats justifiable? What's the consensus here?

[caston]

Let the market decide.