Fast food menu items high in trans fat

a Calorie Counter has an excellent post detailing the fast food items highest in Trans Fat the top 10:

1. White Castle Homestyle Onion Rings - Sack
   Trans Fat: 30 grams
2. White Castle Fish Nibblers - Sack
   Trans Fat: 16 grams
3. KFC Chicken Pot Pie
   Trans Fat: 14 grams
4. Burger King Hash Browns - Large
   Trans Fat: 13 grams
5. White Castle Chicken Rings - 20 rings
   Trans Fat: 13 grams
6. Jack in the Box Fish & Chips - Large
   Trans Fat: 12 grams
7. Jack in the Box Bacon Cheddar Potato Wedges
   Trans Fat: 12 grams
8. White Castle Clam Strips - Sack
   Trans Fat: 12 grams
9. Dairy Queen Chicken Strip Basket 6-piece
   Trans Fat: 12 grams
10. White Castle French Fries - Sack
    Trans Fat: 11 grams

Its noteworthy that while KFC's fries (or potato wedges) don't have trans fat, plenty of other items they sell do.

Maryland county bans trans fat in restaurants

WP:

The Montgomery County Council unanimously approved a ban on partially hydrogenated oils in restaurants, supermarket bakeries and delis yesterday, becoming the first county in the nation to restrict artery-clogging trans fats.

Good news, the first county to ban trans fat! As more and more cities and counties ban trans fat, restaurants (especially chains) will start to default to trans fat free cooking and everyone, even those in places where trans fat is allowed, will benefit.

McDonalds trans fat free oil update

CNN reports:

The No. 1 burger chain said Thursday at its annual shareholders' meeting that within a year it will use only transfat-free oil to fry foods at all of its U.S. locations.*

It is good to see McDonalds at least slowly coming around.

Just a reminder

We're in hibernation until the next big move in trans fat, but don't forget: What is "trans fat" again?:

Trans fats are made when liquid oil is chemically processed to become a solid a room temperature -- stick margarine is the most common example. Many stick margarines are full of trans fats, so avoid them in the grocery store if you can. Margarine was originally thought to be healthier than butter, but not only does it raise bad cholesterol but it also lowers good cholesterol (butter doesn't). Good news is that many margarines are available now with little to no trans fats, Benecol and Promise to name a couple examples. And I was surprised to read that the softer the margarine is the less trans fats it probably has. I would have guessed the other way (maybe thinking stiffer margarine was closer to butter in processing?).

Its been quiet on the trans fat front, but don't forget about it while doing your shopping.

California working on a trans fat ban

Richard Seah reports:

On March 6, the California State Assembly Health Committee passed, by a 9-4 vote, a bill that would phase out the use of oils, margarine and shortening containing trans fats starting 2009.

The ban will cover restaurants, bakeries, delicatessens and other businesses classified as “food facilities”. Violations could result in fines of $25 to $1,000. Food items sold in their manufacturers’ sealed packaging would be exempt.

If the bill gets passed, California will be the first US state (as opposed to cities like New York and Philadelphia) to ban trans fats. Similar bills have so far been introduced in at least 15 other states.

Things are getting done!

Trans fat links.

Interesting trans fat links:

Margarine vs. Butter (pick soft margarine, what about baking?)

Top 10 foods to beware of

Girl Scout Cookies go Trans Fat "free"

Strollerderby:

Following in the wake of other manufacturers who rid their products of trans fats after the FDA began requiring changes to food labels to divulge information on the substance last year, the Girl Scouts are announcing that their entire line of cookies is trans fat free. Well, almost. FDA regulations state that labels can carry the words "zero trans fats" if they have a trace or more than a trace of the artery-clogging nasty stuff. Girl Scouts cookies will carry up to half a gram of it per serving, which adds up quickly when you've consumed an entire row of Thin Mints in one sitting.

This is good to hear, most cookies shouldn't have trans fat in them anyway.

Fatburger goes Trans Fat free.

Fast Food News:

They seem to all be falling in line with the trans-fat-free movement. Now, burger chain Fatburger, has now gone trans-fat-free, too:

"On January 1st, Fatburger began eliminating trans fat from its menu items. The plan includes transitioning to trans-fat free frying oil in all 83 locations. The new soy bean-based oil will be used to prepare fried offerings, including Fat and Skinny Fries and homemade onion rings."
"Our goal is to provide our guests with the high quality and great taste that they know and love from Fatburger," said Elaine Patel, vice president of marketing for Fatburger.

This has to be embarrassing to some larger chain restaurants. The list has been updated.

List of trans fat free oil chain restaurants.

This is my list in progress of trans fat free oil chain restaurants:

Cheesecake Factory: article
Chili's: article
Fatburger: article
Jason's Deli: article
Longhorn Steakhouse: article
McDonald's: article (phasing in now)
Panera Bread: article
Ruby Tuesday: article
Souper Salad: article
Starbucks: article (not done yet in some cities)
Taco Bell: article
Wendy's: article (some controversy on this)

Arby's (by May 2007) reports having fries that fall below the US FDA reporting standards for trans fat.
KFC (by April 2007): article
Olive Garden (by Nov 2007): article
Red Lobster (by Nov 2007): article

As always, you should verify yourself.

Kingpin Donuts goes trans fat free.

Not much news on the trans fat front lately, but a local donut shop in Berkeley has gone trans fat free. Apparently donut makers are worried about how well donuts "keep." If so, a trans fat ban could be a blessing in disguise for donut eaters, as you will be much more likely to get a fresh one.

Philadelphia moving to ban trans fat

KYW:

The vote was unanimous as City Council Thursday turned a big thumbs down on trans fats. If signed by the mayor, the bill bans trans fats from all Philadelphia eateries.

All 17 City council members voted aye on a plan that bans trans fats from restaurants September 1st, and in bakeries one year later. Violators would get warnings, not fines.

They will be the second major city to ban trans fat, although I am not sure it is a ban if it isn't enforced with more than a stern note. You need some fines to make it stick.

Fast foods.

Beegs' Stuff reports on the best and worst fast foods, just stay away from Burger King.

Lay's Chips

The Mouth Revolution Blog reports:

With Super Bowl coming up, I have to alert all Revolutionary Mouths that junk manufacturer Lays is using false and misleading advertising. At issue is their claim of “0g Trans Fats” in their potato chips. But in the ingredients list (see image above) it clearly states, “Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottenseed Oil.” Fellow Mouths, that is Trans Fats!

Amazingly, Lays is able to claim “0g Trans Fats” on the nutritional label, if the product contains less than one half gram of Trans Fat per serving. Yeah, what mouth do you know ever eats just one serving of potato chips? Not me.

Any savvy trans fat avoider should know the serving trick! It however isn't misleading advertising since the FDA set a ridiculously high reporting standard per serving. Many foods can sneak under the 0.5 g trans fat per serving limitation, including some soft margarines and even some types of Crisco. The FDA needs to change this in the future, but if you are trying to eliminate trans fat, the place you will get into trouble is eating out. The FDA almost certainly can't require everyone to label every menu item, which is why a ban is necessary.

Burger King not trans fat free until 2008.

Burger King is behind the curve:

The world's second-largest burger chain says it has been working for more than two years to identify oils without the artery-clogging substance for eventual use in its 7,500 restaurants in the United States and Canada.

The Miami-based company says it will secure commitments from its suppliers for the alternative oils, after in-restaurant testing is complete.

The company plans its national rollout in late 2008.

What, they didn't see this coming? Not until late 2008, poor show.

McDonalds picks out trans fat free oil.

Health News Flash reports: McDonald's selects trans fat free oil. I noticed that they waited until I posted a graph of their menu. McDonald's says they are phasing the canola based oil in now, it currently is in more than 1,200 restaurants. Phoenix was a test market, so if you live there, you may have been getting healthier fries than you thought. I will update the list of restaurants now.

McDonalds menu graphed.

Innovation Science has graphed McDonald's menu based on trans fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. He recommends avoiding the big breakfasts. Surprising to me is that the relatively new McGriddles are low in trans fat, while the new Chicken selects are sky high.

Crisco switches to trans fat free.

Cooking News:

Crisco, the mainstay of cookie-baking moms for decades, is chucking its original formula to eliminate its much-maligned trans fats.

The decision, announced Wednesday by its maker, J.M. Smucker Co., shows how times have changed. When it debuted in 1911, the queen of trans fat products was hailed as a healthful alternative to butter and lard.

Its still probably best to avoid using Crisco at all, but it is good news. This leaves hard margarine as the main item which you'll find a ton of trans fat in at the grocery store.

Update: The Herbwife's Kitchen says:

But guess what? The food industry isn’t replacing this nasty industrial fat with some wholesome, expensive ingredient like, say, coconut oil. Yes, you guessed it, they’re replacing it with another nasty industrial fat! And the early research suggests this one might be even more poisonous than the last. (Not only does it lower “good” HDL cholesterol, it raises blood sugar. Just what we need.)

So watch for it on food labels: interesterified fat, also known as fully hydrogenated oil. And steer clear. (And just give up on the Crisco. How about organic lard from happy pigs on small farms instead?)

Trans fat in your diet.

Healthbolt: Where's the Trans Fat in your Diet coming from?

Average Daily Trans Fat Intake is 5.8 Grams or 2.6 Percent of Calories

• 40% - cakes, cookies, crackers, pies, bread, etc.
• 21% - animal products
• 17% - margarine
• 8% - fried potatoes
• 5% - potato chips, corn chips, popcorn
• 4% - household shortening
• 3% - salad dressing
• 1% - breakfast cereal
• 1% - candy

I think the french fries category is a bit surprising, I would have guessed it would be more than 8%. The rest I could have guessed, although you have to look hard in the first category for some of the trans fat, bread and crackers are hard to find with trans fat anymore.

UPDATE: See the comments for concerns about the salad dressing numbers.

List update

I updated the trans fat free restaurant list, adding Panera Bread, which is a step ahead of Starbucks.

Class action lawsuits and trans fat.

Cross-wire has an article title Time for another class action? While the article doesn't go into details, I think class action lawsuits are probably just around the corner for trans fat. The lawyers tried lawsuits based on just straight obesity, but they haven't gained any ground, trans fat is different however. Somewhere out there there is a food taster, QA, or similar who is eating loads of trans fat as part of their jobs. They didn't necessarily sign up for the trans fat part, they are just general tasters, but now some are being exposed to a known hazard, the tasters at Krispy Kreme should be calling their lawyers if they feel lucky. Similar to smoking or asbestos the effects aren't necessarily seen right away, but build up over time. Its just a matter of time before this happens, the food industry would do well to switch now to head things off.