SAN FRANCISCO - Taking into account the growing storm over the presence of trans fats in cooking oil and their unhealthy nature, KFC has announced that its famous finger lickin' good fried chicken will now be cooked in oil that is free of trans fats.
Trans fat-free oil will also cover other KFC products like Potato Wedges, Original Recipe, KFC Snacker, Sandwiches and Extra Crispy. Louisville-based KFC said that all 5,500 of its US-based restaurants had stopped serving trans fat-laden meals.
KFC's sister unit Taco Bell also announced that all 4,200 of its outlets would switch over to canola oil, while the 1,400 multibrand outlets would use soybean cooking oil. "At KFC we're committed to serving foods that meet the changing needs of our customers, without sacrificing the finger-lickin' good taste that is the foundation of our brand," said Gregg Dedrick, president of KFC.
Trans fats are linked with an increase in bad cholesterol and are also thought to lower healthy cholesterol in the blood. New York and Philadelphia have rules that call for all restraints to be trans fat-free by 2008.
KFC announced that its cooking oil would be fat free in 2006 and since then has researched to provide an alternative to trans fats without compromising on the taste.
James O'Reilly, chief marketing officer at KFC said the chain was committed to providing healthy food for customers, "We want everyone to know that KFC's fried chicken has the same great taste, now with zero grams of trans fat per serving," he added.
