The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issue the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. The Guidelines include the following recommendation:

The Guidelines also contain the following strong message to the food industry:

The Superior Court of California for Marin County preliminarily approves settlement of the McDonald's cases. See Press Release.

Canada’s largest restaurant chains launch a new program that will make it easier for consumers to obtain detailed nutrition information about various menu items. The voluntary program, developed by leading restaurant companies and the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA), will provide consumers with the "calorie, fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate and protein content of standard menu items," including trans fat.

By the end of 2005, participating restaurants across Canada will provide the information in brochures at each of their locations, and place a notice on menu boards or menus to let consumers know the information is available on the premises. The information will also be posted on restaurant websites.

A total of 24 restaurant chains have so far signed on to the voluntary program. The founding companies, which are at various stages of complying with the guidelines, are:

A & W Food Services of Canada Inc., Burger King Restaurants of Canada Inc., Casey's Bar & Grill, De Dutch Pannekoek House Restaurants Inc., East Side Mario's Restaurants, Fionn MacCool's, Harvey's, IKEA Canada, Jack Astor's Bar & Grill, Kelsey's Restaurants, KFC, Little Caesar of Canada Inc., Les Rotisseries St-Hubert Ltee., McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited, Pizza Hut, Pizza Nova, Pizza Pizza Limited, Shoeless Joe's Restaurants, Swiss Chalet Rotisserie & Grill, Taco Bell, Tim Hortons, Van Houtte Inc., Wendy's Restaurants of Canada Inc., and White Spot Restaurants.

Click here for more information.

After five years of painstaking work, Jason's Deli announces that it has eliminated partially hydrogenated oils from every food item at all of its 137 restaurants nationwide and all 1.6 million box lunches provided to schools annually. We believe that this is the largest successful anti-trans fat project to date by any restaurant chain in the United States.

Click here for information.

August 24, 2005

The Superior Court of California for Marin County finally approves settlement of the McDonald's cases. See Press Release.

October 10, 2005

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) asks city restaurateurs and food suppliers to voluntarily eliminate partially hydrogenated vegetable oils from the kitchen.

DOHMH Commissioner Dr. Thomas R. Frieden said, "New York City’s restaurants are the best in the world but they can be even healthier. Trans fat is artificially added to the foods we eat and is easily removed. To help combat heart disease, the number one killer in New York City, we are asking restaurants to voluntarily make an oil change and remove artificial trans fat from their kitchens. We are also urging food suppliers to provide products that are trans fat free."

E. Charles Hunt, Executive Vice President of the New York State Restaurant Association, said, "New York City is world renowned for our culinary diversity. Working together to reduce trans fat from our kitchens will be one more way to ensure an enjoyable and healthy experience for the City’s 8 million residents and the millions more who visit every year."

According to the DOHMH, preliminary results from a sample of New York City restaurants found that 30% of restaurants used oils or fats known to contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oil for cooking or frying, or in spreads, such as margarine. As part of its educational push beginning this month, the DOHMH is sending out letters and an information bulletin to more than 20,000 restaurants and 14,000 supermarkets and food suppliers to alert them to the dangers of trans fat, how to identify it, and how to replace trans fat with healthier options in the kitchen.

There are indications that the number of restaurants using partially hydrogenated oil for cooking or frying may be as high as 60%.

Good luck New York!

New York City Press Release

New York City PDF file: "What every restaurant and food service establishment needs to know about trans fat"

November 2005

The Center for Science in the Public Interest ("CSPI"), which is based in Washington, D.C., is the one of the world's premier nutrition advocacy organizations. Its Nutrition Action Healthletter has more than 800,000 subscribers. CSPI's efforts resulted in the enactment of the law in 1990 which requires Nutrition Facts labels on packaged products sold in the United States.

BanTransFats.com, Inc. has a working relationship with CSPI as a co-campaigner on the trans fat issue.

CSPI announced in November 2005 that it had completed a survey of trans fat usage in the United States. Its survey included 38 major food manufacturers, 100 restaurant chains, and 25 supermarket chains.

The survey shows that while many of America's biggest food manufacturers and supermarket chains are busily replacing trans fats with more healthful substitutes, the biggest restaurant chains are still frying in trans fat-laden, heart attack-inducing, partially hydrogenated oils. Trans fat labeling on packaged foods becomes mandatory on January 1, 2006. That looming deadline has been a powerful incentive for supermarkets and food manufacturers to switch to healthier oils, but CSPI found that the lack of any nutrition labeling or disclosure requirements for restaurant chains has caused them to lag far behind. While several major restaurant chains told CSPI they are testing healthier oils, only a few chains have already taken action.

This is excellent and valuable work by CSPI.

Click here for the CSPI press release. Click here for the survey.

(A survey by the consumer research group Mintel International shows that in 2003, only 10 new products introduced in the United States claimed low or no trans fats. By 2004, that number jumped to 369. In 2005, it had nearly doubled, to 632.)

We receive a lot of email about Girl Scout cookies. A lot of people, especially parents, are very upset that many of the products contain trans fats. An article in Knight Ridder Newspapers published on December 5, 2005 indicates that changes are in the pipeline. Here is the relevant part of the story:

Customers will want to know as Girl Scouts around the nation start their annual cookie drive between now and early next year with new, healthier treats: cookies with zero trans fat.

* * * * *

The Scouts have taken the villainous substance out of three of their most popular cookies: Thin Mints, Caramel deLites and Peanut Butter Patties. Two new cookies, the fudge-covered Thanks-A-Lot and reduced-fat Cartwheels, don't have trans fat, either.

Kansas City Scouts, among the first in the country to take orders for the new cookies, are eager to roll them out. The cookies will be delivered in early January.

"The fact that five of them are trans fat-free is big news to them," says Martha Singleton, marketing communications manager for the Girl Scouts of Mid-Continent Council. By next year's drive all Girl Scout cookies will be free of the fat that scientists now tell us is more harmful to our hearts than saturated fat.

"I think it's going to be great," says Dianne Brungardt, leader of two Scout troops in Independence, Mo. "I think our sales will go up because of it.

* * * * *

"I think there are some folks out there who want to vilify everyone who uses trans fat," says Sherry Sybesma, senior vice president of sales and marketing for ABC Cookie Baker, the oldest licensed maker of Girl Scout cookies. "The truth is that for a long time we thought we were doing the right thing." The Virginia company makes eight varieties of Scout cookies and many other products for some of the country's largest food retailers and manufacturers.

Responding to the new trans fat science, ABC began researching and developing new trans fat-free products several years ago and added trans-fat content info on its products last year.

For the Girl Scouts, the bakery knew it would be challenged to come up with trans fat-free recipes for new cookies that taste as good as the old. It can be done. You probably haven't even noticed that your Cheetos and Lay's potato chips don't have trans fat anymore because they taste the same.

We sued Kraft in May 2003 to ban the marketing and sale of trans fat-laden Oreos to children, and to prevent Kraft from continuing to distribute Oreos to young kids in schools. As a result of the lawsuit, Kraft agreed to remove partially hydrogenated oil from the Oreo. Two months later, Kraft said that it would reduce or eliminate trans fat in all its cookies and crackers across the board. Kraft also agreed to stop all in-school marketing.

Today Kraft issued the following press release:

NORTHFIELD, IL, December 20, 2005 - Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:KFT), a global leader in branded foods and beverages, announced today that it has successfully completed its multi-year, voluntary trans fat reduction efforts in the U.S. In addition, the company said that it will meet the January 1, 2006 U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) deadline for on-pack trans fat labeling. The new FDA rule does not require companies to reduce trans fat content. Kraft took the added steps of reducing or removing trans fat from its products, while making sure they retain their great taste. With nearly every reformulated product, not only did the company reduce trans fat content, but it also ensured that the combination of saturated fat plus trans fat did not increase compared to the original formulation.

With more than 100,000 people-hours invested by Kraft’s research and development teams alone, the extensive and complex project resulted in the reformulation of a significant number of Kraft’s U.S. products.

"As part of Kraft’s broader health and wellness initiatives, we’re continually working on ways to enhance the nutritional profiles of our products," noted Lance Friedmann, Senior Vice President, Global Health & Wellness and New Category Development. "With trans fat reformulation efforts, we’ve responded to consumers’ concerns, while also delivering on their quality and taste expectations. A great example of having met this goal is our Triscuit cracker line; we’ve seen double-digit growth on Triscuit sales since its reformulation."

The broad, multi-disciplinary effort involved Kraft’s Global Technology & Quality, Operations and Marketing teams. 

"Reformulating a single product can be challenging on its own," said Jean Spence, Executive Vice President, Global Technology & Quality. "With this initiative, we were reformulating across our entire U.S. portfolio, with roughly 650 products needing new formulas or manufacturing solutions, or both.  In some cases, we even had to develop proprietary blends of oils to help meet our goal of ensuring that the combined level of saturated fat plus trans fat did not increase as a result of the reformulation."

As a result, seven Kraft categories undertook significant reformulation efforts across their product lines, including: Cereal, Cookies, Crackers, Pizza, Desserts, Meals, and Oscar Mayer. Brands such as Kraft Easy Mac, DiGiorno Thin Crispy Crust Pizza, original Oreo cookies, Wheat Thins crackers, and Jell-O Pudding Snacks will now be labeled as containing 0g trans fat per serving.

With the completion of the reformulation efforts, fewer than 2.5% of the products in Kraft’s portfolio covered by the FDA rule will be required to bear labels declaring the presence of trans fat. These include products where trans fat is naturally occurring, such as cheeses, products containing meats or cheeses (e.g. pizza, lunch combinations), and products where reformulation efforts would have negatively altered the taste and quality of the product.

Kraft’s approach to trans fat reformulation is global, with significant efforts under way in markets around the world.

The defending champion: Oreos with trans fats. The challenger: new Oreos without trans fats.

Our tasters found virtually no difference between the two. They praised the original for its good balance between the cream filling and the cookie, its attractive smell and its familiar taste. Trying the new trans-fat-free version, they sensed only slight differences – a hint more salt and a slightly greater emphasis on the cream – but found the cookies equal in sweetness, with similar mouth-feel to the filling.

"I think you could pass both of them off as the same," said pastry chef Steve Klc of Zaytinya in Washington.

Before the trans-fat rule, the amount of trans fat in a processed food could be the entire amount of unidentified fat – in this case, 5.5 grams. According to the FDA rule that took effect Jan. 1, food manufacturers now may claim "zero trans fats" on a nutritional label as long as there is no more than 0.5 gram of fat in the serving size.

Oreos with trans fats: Serving size is three cookies, 160 calories, 7 total fat grams (1.5 grams saturated fat, 5.5 grams of unidentified fat.)

New Oreos without trans fats: Serving size is three cookies, 160 calories, 7 total fat grams (2 grams saturated fat, 1 gram polyunsaturated fat, 3 grams monounsaturated fat, 1 gram unidentified fat).

January 1, 2006

Starting today, January 1, 2006, all packaged foods that enter interstate commerce in the United States must list trans fat content on their Nutrition Facts labels. Here is an example of the new label.

There are two major problems with the new label:

1. Under FDA regulations, "if the serving contains less than 0.5 gram [of trans fat], the content, when declared, shall be expressed as zero."

Suppose you eat one serving of Product A, one serving of Product B, and one serving of Product C. Let's assume that each product contains 0.4 grams per serving. You have just consumed 1.2 grams of trans fat, despite the fact that each of the labels claims that the products contain zero grams of trans fat per serving! Click here for an article about the less than 0.5 gram rule.

So be sure to check the ingredients list. If the words "partially hydrogenated" appear in the ingredients, the product contains trans fat. Also note that if the word "shortening" in the ingredient, the product probably contains partially hydrogenated oil which means that it contains trans fat.

2. Note that there is no percentage for trans fat in the "% Daily Value" column. There is just a blank space. The FDA had previously proposed to put an asterisk in the % Daily Value column with a note that "intake of trans fats should be as low as possible." However, in response to food industry pressure, the warning has been dropped. You should act as if the advisory is on the label. Eat as little trans fat as possible.

Note: The new label must appear on all packaged products that enter interstate commerce on or after January 1, 2006. Products that enter interstate commerce prior to that date can bear the old labels. Therefore, you may still see old labels on store shelves after January 1, 2006.

Note: Regrettably, the FDA may extend the time for some companies to comply with the new labeling requirement by as much as 12 months. Certain food lobbyists persuaded the FDA to permit such extensions in certain cases so that companies can use up their existing food labels. These companies have known about the new labeling rule since July 2003. They were given two and a half years from July 2003 to January 2006 to use up their existing labels! But now they claim they need even more time to use up the old labels. Frankly, the FDA caved and we are disappointed. Click here and here for articles on the subject.

June 8, 2006

Wendy's announces that it is switching to a new cooking oil and significantly cutting trans fats. According to the press release, Wendy's 6,300 U.S. and Canadian restaurants are scheduled to switch to the new blend of corn and soy oil beginning in August 2006.

Click here to read the Wendy's press release.

June 12, 2006

MSNBC reports that the Cheesecake Factory is making changes. The report states:

Another health-conscious change being tested in [the Cheesecake Factory's] Los Angeles restaurants: Completely trans fat free food menus. Okura and his team went through 20 different trans fat free products in order to find one that maintained good flavor, and with the clock ticking toward today one last menu item was giving him trouble: The sweet corn tamales.

In a blind taste test, Okura sampled three versions of the dish: One with a trans fat free product, followed by the current version, which has trans fats. And finally he tasted one with butter that ironically does not have trans fats.

Butter won out in the end, even though it’s more expensive. What’s the difference? It’s creamier explains Okura.

The trans fat experiment, if it works, will be rolled out nationwide in two months. But some things at Cheesecake Factory won’t be changing — the cheesecakes. After all, you don’t mess with success. But you can tinker with everything else.

Click here for the MSNBC video.

June 13, 2006

On June 13, 2006, a Maryland doctor sued Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). Click here for the news release.

The plaintiff is requesting that KFC be required to notify customers that it is using lethal partially hydrogenated oil for frying. BanTransFats.com supports the lawsuit wholeheartedly.

The U.S. Chamber [of Commerce] Institute for Legal Reform (CILR) has criticized the lawsuit stating as follows:

"The class action lawsuit filed today by the Center for Science in the Public Interest against KFC is a troubling example of a narrow interest group and their self-serving trial lawyer allies using a 'regulation through litigation' strategy, rather than making their case where it belongs -- the public policy arena.

"At their core, these suits doing little to advance the public interest. Common sense and personal responsibility should be the foundation of our society and reflected in our legal system. But sadly, these virtues are increasingly ignored as predatory lawsuits targeting deep-pocket industries become the norm.

"CSPI's lawsuit perpetuates a dangerous climate that only invites more frivolous legal speculation and illustrates the need for major reform. Their outrageous attempt to dictate through class action litigation what type of cooking oil KFC uses exemplifies what's wrong with our legal system.

"We applaud the U.S. House of Representatives which recently passed the Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act (H.R. 554), and we urge the Senate to pass the Commonsense Consumption Act (S. 908) quickly to prevent even more irresponsible food consumption-related lawsuits."

Click here for the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform news release.

The criticism by CILR is a case of crass hypocricy. It is CILR, not CSPI, that is a "narrow interest group." CILR represents narrow business interests. CSPI promotes good nutrition and public health, which no one could reasonably describe as a "narrow interest."

(CSPI's legal counsel is co-counsel for the plaintiff. CSPI is not a plaintiff.)

The food industry owns and controls the "public policy arena," as CILR knows. The food industry has purchased the "public policy arena" using cash in the form of campaign contributions.

The bill passed by the House of Representatives (H.R. 554), which is referred to in the CILR news release, was introduced by Rep. Ric Keller (R - Fl). Keller's reelection campaign received $10,500 from Darden Restaurants' PAC. Darden Restaurants owns Red Lobster and Olive Garden. The National Restaurant Association gave $6,000 to his campaign. The Outback Steakhouse PAC gave his campaign $10,000. Wendy's PAC gave $5,000 to his campaign. For a full list of the major contributor's to Keller's campaign, click here.

Why didn't the CILR mention any of this in its news release?

The food industry owns Rep. Keller and the "public policy arena."

The food industry does not own the courts - yet.

Click here for a video news story about the lawsuit including an interview with Stephen Joseph, President and CEO of BanTransFats.com.

Click here for a copy of the Complaint filed in D.C. Superior Court.

June 19, 2006

American Heart Association (AHA) issues its "2006 Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations." The recommendations contain a balanced approach for maintaining a health diet. The full recommendations are well worth reading as they represent the "state-of-the-art" on nutrition.

On the subject of trans fat, the AHA recommends that you miminize intake of partially hydrogenated oils and asks the food industry (including restaurants) to replace partially hydrogenated oils with low saturated fat alternatives.

Click here to read the full AHA recommendations and analysis.

Click here for the AHA website page summarizing the recommendations.

Click here for the AHA news release.

Similarly, the U.S. Government's recommendation in its Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 is "keep trans fatty acid consumption as low as possible."

June 28, 2006

In November 2004, the New Democratic Party (NDP) introduced a bill in the Canadian Parliament that would effectively ban trans fats. Click here to read the bill. In response to this initiative, the House of Commons by 193 to 73 passed a motion calling for the establishment of the task force, followed by regulations or a law to limit trans-fat content in all food products. Click here to read the motion and to see how each M.P. voted.

As a direct result of the NDP's initiative, the Canadian Government health ministry, Health Canada, announced the formation of a task force to "develop recommendations and strategies for reducing trans fats in Canadian foods to the lowest levels possible."

The NDP's initiative originated with the work of Pat Martin, M.P. NDP leader, Jack Layton, M.P. introduced the motion in the House of Commons and moved the issue forward with Pat Martin. Incidentally, BanTransFats.com provided information and support to Pat Martin. He learned about trans fat from our campaign!

On June 28, 2006, the Task Force issued its final recommendations. The Task Force recommended:

For all vegetable oils and soft, spreadable (tub-type) margarines sold to consumers or for use as an ingredient in the preparation of foods on site by retailers or food service establishments, the total trans fat content be limited by regulation to 2% of total fat content.

For all other foods purchased by a retail or food service establishment for sale to consumers or for use as an ingredient in the preparation of foods on site, the total trans fat content be limited by regulation to 5% of total fat content. This limit does not apply to food products for which the fat originates exclusively from ruminant meat or dairy products.

Regulations be finalized by June 2008.

A basic phase-in period be set at one year from the date of entry into force of the final regulations.

Extended phase-in periods be specified for certain applications (e.g. baking) and for small and medium-sized firms, recognizing that in most cases the transition could be made within two years of the date of entry into force of the final regulations.

Click here for a copy of the final report. Click here for the Trans Fat Task Force's webpage.

The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA) is publicly supporting the recommendations. Click here for the CRFA statement and information page. Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC) also stated that it apporoved of the recommendations. Click here for the FCPC media release.

Let us hope that the food industry does not stand in the way of implementation of the recommendations. Actions speak louder than words.

July, 2006

Chicago Alderman Edward M. Burke proposes an ordinance that would ban the use of partially hydrogenated oils for cooking in Chicago restaurants. Following a hearing, he is now only targeting restaurant chains with at least $20 million in annual gross sales, including the major fast food establishments. Alderman Burke has asked them to act voluntarily in taking trans fats off their menus before seeking passage of legislation that would require them to do so. 

July, 2006

Another trans fat-free zone has been formed in Westchester County where 125 restaurants have agreed not to use partially hydrogenated oil. Click here for information.

August 2, 2006

Three big British supermarket chains, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda, announce that they will eliminate partially hydrogenated oils from the own-brand products by the end of 2006. Marks & Spencer has already stopped using partially hydrogenated oil in its food production. Waitrose has been removing partially hydrogenated oils from its foods since the beginning of 2004.

BanTransFats.com strongly encourages supermarkets in the United States and Canada to follow the British example. Surely American and Canadian consumers are entitled to the same health consideration as their British counterparts.

Click here and here for articles about the British announcement.

(Not all is perfect in Britain. Unlike the United States and Canada, Britain does not have trans fat labeling. Scientists at Oxford University have written a strong article in the British Medical Journal supporting the introduction of trans fat labeling in Britain. Britain should introduce such labeling as soon as possible. Click here for a report about the BMJ article.)

August 24, 2006

Wendy's announces that it has completed the switch to a new cooking oil that significantly cuts trans fats. All of Wendy's 6,300 U.S. and Canadian restaurants are now using the new blend of corn and soybean oil.

Click here for the press release.

September 6, 2006

In July 2006, Chicago Alderman Edward M. Burke proposed an ordinance that would ban the use of partially hydrogenated oils for cooking in Chicago restaurants. Following a hearing in July 2006, he said that he would only target restaurant chains with at least $20 million in annual gross sales, including the major fast food establishments. Alderman Burke has asked them to act voluntarily in taking trans fats off their menus before seeking passage of legislation that would require them to do so.

Another hearing was held on September 6, 2006. At the hearing, a consultant retained by the Illinois Restaurant Association sought to minimize the health risks posed by oils containing trans fat. He admitted that there was no question that the consensus of scientific opinion is that trans fat increases levels of bad cholesterol. However, he said it was "murky" how much of an effect that increase had on coronary heart disease and how much it raised the risk of death from the disease. "The question is how much impact does that have on development of coronary heart disease," he said. "And how big of a risk factor is trans fatty acids relative to the other risk factors that most people have" such as obesity, high blood pressure, smoking, and drinking alcohol.

The consultant retained by the Illinois Restaurant Association was trying to muddy the waters. There is nothing "murky" about the association between bad cholesterol and heart disease.

Chicago Health Commissioner Dr. Terry Mason is consulting with New York City regarding its voluntary compliance program. Mason will report back to the Chicago City Council on his findings and give the Council an update on talks with the restaurant industry.

September 26, 2006

The New York City Health Department proposes for public comment two separate initiatives that will affect New York City restaurants.

The first initiative is a partial phase-out of artificial trans fat in all New York City restaurants. This proposal allows restaurants six months to switch to oils, margarines and shortening that have less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. After 18 months, all other food items would need to contain less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. Packaged food items still in the manufacturer’s original packaging when served would be exempt.

Dr. Walter Willett, Chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, said, "If New Yorkers replace all sources of artificial trans fat, by even the most conservative estimates, at least 500 deaths from heart disease would be prevented each year in New York City – more than the number of people killed annually in motor vehicle crashes. Based on long-term studies, the number of preventable deaths may be many times higher. Trans fat from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is a toxic substance that does not belong in food."

Switching to trans fat-free frying oils does not increase costs. The trans fat-free frying oils available today taste just as good and have fry lives just as long as partially hydrogenated oils. There is no justification for continuing to use partially hydrogenated oils. Period. If you are a restaurant owner or manager and you need information about obtaining trans fat-free oils, contact us.

Why not encourage restaurants to switch to trans fat-free products volunatarily? In fact, New York City has had a voluntary program since August 2005, based on educating restaurant owners and managers about the problem. However, the results have not been positive. The City states in its press release:

The Health Department conducted a year-long education campaign to help restaurants voluntarily reduce trans fat. Information was provided to every restaurant in New York City and training was provided to help restaurants and food suppliers make the change. Restaurants were surveyed before and after the campaign. While some restaurants reduced or stopped using artificial trans fat, overall use did not decline at all. In restaurants where it could be determined whether trans fat was used, half used it in oils or spreads both before and after the year-long campaign. A year after this voluntary effort, New Yorkers are still being exposed to high levels of dangerous trans fat.

The second initiative would require restaurants that already make calorie content publicly available on or after March 1, 2007 to also post it on their menus and menu boards.

There will be a public hearing on the initiatives on October 30, 2006.

Click here for the New York City Health Department media release.

Click here to read the New York City trans fat proposal, including instructions on how to comment on the proposal.

October 16, 2006

The Walt Disney Company introduces new food guidelines aimed at giving parents and children healthier eating options. The guidelines for licensed foods and promotions aimed at children will govern Disney's business partnerships and activities in the U.S. on a going-forward basis and will be adapted internationally over the next several years.

The new policies call for Disney to use its name and characters only on kid-focused products that meet specific guidelines, including limits on calories, fat, saturated fat and sugar. Disney also announced nutritionally-beneficial changes in the meals served to children at all Disney-operated restaurants in its parks and resorts and unveiled a company-wide plan to eliminate added trans fats from food served at its parks by the end of 2007 and from its licensed and promotional products by the end of 2008.

Added trans fats are in the process of being removed from all Disney food offerings. Food served at the U.S. Disney parks and resorts will be free of added trans fats by the end of 2007. Disney's U.S. licensing and promotional groups are aiming to meet an end-2008 deadline.

Click here for the Disney media release.

October 24, 2006

The Australian government announces the establishment of a National Collaboration on Trans Fats aimed at reducing the presence in trans fat food sold in Australia.

Click here for an article.

October 30, 2006

The New York City Board of health holds a public hearing on its proposal to ban trans fats. Stephen Joseph, the CEO of BanTransFats.com, testifies at the hearing.

October 30, 2006

KFC announces that it is converting all of its 5,500 restaurants in the United States to a "zero grams" trans fat cooking oil. The new oil, a low linolenic soybean oil, will replace the partially hydrogenated soybean oil in current use in KFC restaurants. The conversion, which follows over two years of extensive testing of oil options to identify the same taste profile, has already begun in many KFC restaurants and is scheduled to be completed by the end of April 2007 nationwide.

Once the transition is complete, KFC's most popular signature products, including Original Recipe and Extra Crispy chicken, will contain "zero grams" of trans fat. Other products that will have "zero grams" of trans fat are: Crispy Strips, Wings, Boneless Wings, Honey BBQ, Buffalo and Crispy Snacker Sandwiches, Popcorn Chicken, Twisters and Potato Wedges. Many KFC menu items today already contain "zero grams" of trans fat, including: all Tender Roast Products, Honey BBQ Sandwich, Honey BBQ Snacker, and many side dishes such as Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes, Corn on the Cob and Coleslaw.

There is still one item that will not have zero grams of trans fat, at least not yet. That item is biscuits. They are still working on it.

The huge levels of saturated fat, salt and calories in KFC's products are very bad for heart health and weight and definitely not recommended. But taking out the trans fat is a great move and we applaud it wholeheartedly.

Well done KFC!

Click here for the KFC media release.

October 30, 2006

Popeye's and Burger King announce trans fat initiatives.

Click here for the news report about Popeye's.

Click here for news report about Burger King.

October 30, 2006

McDonald's Australia has started cooking with oil that is virtually free of artery-clogging trans fatty acids, the company says. A spokesman for the company said the new oil, a blend of canola and high oleic sunflower oil was now being used in all 740 restaurants across the country. He said the new oil was not hardened or partially hydrogenated and was high in monounsaturated fat or good fat, which helped maintain good health. The change would remove more than 415 tonnes of trans fat from the Australian food supply, he said.

Click here for a news report.

November 2, 2006

In August 2006, Wendy's announced that it had completed the switch to a new cooking oil that significantly cuts trans fats. All of Wendy's 6,300 U.S. and Canadian restaurants are now using the new blend of corn and soybean oil. However, there is a problem. Click here to read the Wendy's press release about the change.

On November 2, 2006, Consumer Reports published the following findings:

In August fast-food chain Wendy's announced that it had switched to a healthier, nonhydrogenated cooking oil and had rid its french fries of nearly all trans fats. The change, according to the company, meant that the kid-sized fries and breaded chicken sold at all of Wendy's 6,000 U.S. restaurants had no unhealthy trans fats, while small, medium, and large french fries, once loaded with 5 to 7 grams of trans fats, now had just 0.5 grams.

Consumer Reports purchased large servings of fries from three Wendy's restaurants in Westchester County, N.Y., in early September. We sent the fries to an independent lab for fatty-acid analysis. We were surprised to find that the lab tests showed the fries contained significantly more trans fat than the 0.5 grams per serving claimed by Wendy's. To double-check the findings, we purchased fries from the same restaurants at the end of September and sent them to the same lab plus another independent lab for a second set of analyses, which confirmed our initial findings. The average amount of trans fat per serving was 2.5 grams.

When asked about the findings, Wendy's representatives said the company had rigorously tested and analyzed the fat content of its fries working with an independent lab. But our tests, based on the same method that Wendy's told us it used, throw doubt on the company's claims. The good news for Wendy's lovers is that the large fries we tested contained significantly less trans fat than the 7 grams they had before the announced cooking-oil change. And Wendy's large fries contain less than half as much trans fat as large fries from Burger King or McDonald's, which each had about 6 grams of trans fat in our tests. Wendy's fries also had a better overall fat profile, with slightly less saturated fat than Burger King's or McDonald's.

Click here to read the full article.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a Wendy's spokesman said its measurements are more reliable because its "far more extensive" testing was of samples from 12 french-fry suppliers, done by an independent lab and a cooking-oil supplier. The spokesman said Wendy's plans to test fries from all its Westchester restaurants to explain the discrepancy.

Here is BanTransFats.com's guess.

We believe that Wendy's fries are par-fried in partially hydrogenated oil in a factory before they reach the restaurant. The ingredients still include partially hydrogenated soybean oil or partially hydrogenated canola oil. Click here for the list of ingredients.

Wendy’s, like all other restaurants, uses the same finish oil in the restaurants for hundreds of batches. A restaurant may fry about 100, 200 or even 300 batches of French fries in the same oil.

When you fry French fries that contain partially hydrogenated par-fry oil, a bit of that oil passes into the finish oil. Thus, as hundred of batches of French fries are fried in the same finish oil, there will be a substantial build-up of partially hydrogenated oil in the finish oil. By the time you get to the 100th batch, there is quite a lot of partially hydrogenated oil in the finish oil. The solution is not to use French fries that are par-fried in partially hydrogenated oil, or to change the finish oil more frequently.

Perhaps Wendy’s did their trans fat measurement on a first batch fried in the new oil, or at least an early batch, not the 100th or later batch.

Clearly Wendy's has a problem that it must solve fast. It must make a full public disclosure about the problem and stop using French fries that are par-fried in partially hydrogenated oil as soon as possible.

November 6, 2006

American airline, Jet Blue, announces that its on-board snacks are now trans-fat free.

Click here for information.

November 6, 2006

Here is a Washington Post editorial published today.

Ban Trans Fats
Pass the polyunsaturated oil.

Monday, November 6, 2006

WE LIKE french fries, doughnuts and pie as much as the next editorial board. That's why we hope that the New York City Health Department's push to ban trans fatty acids from the city's foods succeeds -- and inspires the federal Food and Drug Administration to catch up.

Last week New York health officials held a public hearing on a proposal to cap what are commonly called trans fats at 0.5 gram per serving in the Big Apple's 20,000 or so restaurants. The evidence that doctors and public health experts presented makes you think twice about picking up a Whopper: Trans fats, which are chemically engineered, decrease levels of desirable cholesterol while increasing harmful cholesterol; they increase dangerous inflammation that can contribute to the onset of diabetes; and they harden artery walls, which increases blood pressure. Trans fats are much worse than even naturally occurring -- and still very unhealthy -- saturated fats such as those found in butter. Dariush Mozaffarian, a Harvard cardiologist and epidemiologist, calculated that up to 22 percent of heart attacks in the United States are the result of trans fat consumption.

Cue an assortment of critics -- many representing the restaurant industry -- who variously claim that such a measure would hurt mom-and-pop diners, reduce consumers' freedom to eat what they want or diminish the tastiness of McDonald's fries. We would sympathize with the opponents of the trans fat ban if it weren't so easy and inexpensive to use other, less harmful products without significantly altering the taste of the food. Kraft recently eliminated trans fats from its Oreo cookies. Could you tell? Similarly, Wendy's tested its new frying oil in 370 franchises, and customers didn't notice the difference. Denmark imposed a national ban on trans fats with which even McDonald's has complied.

Since trans fats aren't irreplaceable, objections for the sake of consumer freedom are also unconvincing. As with lead added to paint, trans fats are unnecessary additives to consumer products that can cause significant harm -- and many Americans don't even know they are in the restaurant food they are eating.

Currently, the FDA considers all uses of trans fats to be "generally regarded as safe," a designation that allows food producers to use trans fats liberally. According to the FDA, however, "safe" means "a reasonable certainty in the minds of competent scientists that the substance is not harmful under its intended conditions of use" -- a criterion that trans fats no longer satisfy. Federal regulators should promptly move to revoke the "generally regarded as safe" status for most -- if not all -- uses of trans fats, which would effectively eliminate trans fats from American food. Leaving local jurisdictions to regulate trans fats, on the other hand, is an unnecessarily arduous way to stop their use.

 

November 8, 2006

McDonald's said its European restaurants will begin using cooking oils that cut trans-fat levels to no more than 2% of the total.

 

The changeover at some 6,300 restaurants, expected to be completed by mid-2008, involves switching to canola and/or sunflower oils higher in oleic acid than current frying substances.

  

McDonald's European president Denis Hennequin said his operation had been working with suppliers for years to improve the nutritional values of its cooking oils.

 

The rollout of the new oil will be gradual, depending on availability of the product, the company said. Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland are to be the first countries to get it.

 

Suppliers are being asked not to use genetically modified products or ingredients, the company said.

 

McDonald's said the McDonald's Europe's announcement was the result of a plan based on specific European crops and their availability over the next 24 months.

 

Click here for an article.

November 16, 2006

Taco Bell announces that it will convert all of its more than 4,200 single brand US restaurants to a new zero grams trans fat canola oil for frying from a partially hydrogenated soybean oil. Taco Bell says that the transition is already complete in more than 100 restaurants. All Taco Bell restaurants are expected to be transitioned to the zero grams trans fat frying oil by April 2007 nationwide.

Click here for the media release.

December 5, 2006

The New York City Health Department approves a regulation banning trans fats, with some changes. (See September 26 and October 30, 2006 entries above for background information.)

January 1, 2007

Happily, the trans fat campaign has been a major success and what was a trickle of news in 2003 and 2004 has now become a flood. In the future, we will report only the most significant news.

We will no longer attempt to report on all of the restaurant chains and products going trans fat-free. Check our Eateries News page for a partial list of restaurants going trans fat-free.

Project Tiburon launched the trans fat-free city movement in 2004. There are now too many similar initiatives and we cannot report on all of them on a continuing basis. Check our home page for a list of cities and states which have passed or are considering trans fat-free bans and other initiatives.

January 3, 2007

Starbucks announced that it is making all of its stores trans fat-free. Starbucks stores in Seattle, New York City, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. have converted to trans fat-free items by today.

 

Click here for an article.

January 24, 2007

The J. M. Smucker Company announced today it has reformulated the entire line of Crisco shortening products to contain "zero grams trans fat per serving." The reformulated Crisco shortening is already being shipped nationwide and makes Crisco the first national shortening brand to be completely reformulated to contain "zero grams trans fat per serving.

 

This is significant because Crisco has always been the "poster child" of trans fat.

 

A word of caution. The revamped shortenings contain fully hydrogenated cottonseed oil with lower amounts of partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oil. The shortenings still contain some trans fat. They are taking advtantage of the FDA rule that states "if the serving contains less than 0.5 gram [of trans fat], the content, when declared, shall be expressed as zero."

 

Click here for the media release. Click here for the Crisco website.

 

Click here for a side-by-side comparison of cookies prepared with the old Crisco (containing trans fat) and the new Crisco (without trans fat).

January 28, 2007

McDonald's says that it has found a trans fat-free oil it deems worthy of its french fries, and plans to be using it for all its fried menu items by early 2008.

It's not easy getting information from the company
but finally we have some news

Click here and here to read the story.

Click here for the Chicago Tribune taste test. (Result: They taste exactly the same!)

February 8, 2007

The Philadelphia City Council has passed a trans fat ban. Click here for a news article.

February 15, 2007

Mayor John Street of Philadelphia signed the trans fat ban into law.

March 6, 2007

California Assembly Member Tony Mendoza is new in Sacramento (the capital of California). He won election in November 2006. His first legislative act was to introduce a bill to ban trans fats in California. Click here to read the bill. Click here for Tony Mendoza's website.

Standing up for California's consumers

On March 6, 2007, the Assembly Committee on Health held a hearing on the bill. Tony Mendoza and Stephen Joseph of BanTransFats.com testfied at the hearing. The Committee on Health approved the bill 9-4. The next major step will be a vote by the full Assembly.

Tony has two assistants working on the bill, Luis Patino and Alma Hernandez. They are doing a fabulous job.

Tony Mendoza and his staff are demonstrating total commitment to public health and we congratulate and thank them for this initiative.

If the bill becomes law, the effective date of the ban will be 2009 or 201food chains in Australia agree to remove trans fat from their products, thereby averting government intervention.

Click here for a news article.

April 10, 2007

Food companies use cartoons characters to sell sugary fatty foods to kids. Well now it's time to counterattack. The American Heart Association has launched its Bad Fat Brothers campaign using funds that BanTransFats.com obtained from the McDonald's trans fat litigation settlement. Click here for the American Heart Association media release.

Click here for the cartoon webisode of the Bad Fat Brothers.

May 4, 2007

State and federal health ministers in Australia have voted against immediately forcing fast-food companies to reduce dangerous trans fats in their cooking. But the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council has warned regulation was a strong possibility if progress was not made.

Click here to read the story.

June 20, 2007

Canadian Health Minister Tony Clement announced today that Health Canada is adopting the Canadian Trans Fat Task Force’s recommendation on trans fats in Canadian foods, by calling on Canada’s food industry to limit the trans fat content of vegetable oils and soft, spreadable margarines to 2 percent of the total fat content, and to limit the trans fat content for all other foods to 5 percent, including ingredients sold to restaurants.

The Canadian Trans Fat Task Force, a multi-stakeholder group led by Health Canada in conjunction with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, submitted recommendations to the Minister of Health in June 2006.

Minister Clement said: “We are giving industry two years to reduce trans fats to the lowest levels possible as recommended by the Trans Fat Task Force. If significant progress has not been made over the next two years, we will regulate to ensure the levels are met.”

Click here for the media release.

Click here for a copy of the Task Force's final report. Click here for the Trans Fat Task Force's webpage.

June 26, 2007

The ban on partially hydrogenated frying oils takes effect in New York City on July 1, 2007. The Washington Post reports today as follows:

NEW YORK -- No more trans fats with those french fries? No problem. The city's ballyhooed ban on trans fat cooking oils in all New York restaurants _ an idea that gave chefs indigestion when first proposed _ seems to be going surprisingly smoothly. Across the city, most fast food chains say they've already made the switch days before the July 1 deadline, which is Sunday.

...

Still, the trans fat overhaul is viewed as a major victory by health advocates. Trans fats, found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, clog arteries and contribute to heart disease. But they are also cheaper and have a longer shelf life, so industry at first stubbornly resisted dumping them.

That began to change last winter.

Cooking oil companies had already ramped up production of trans-fat alternatives. Restaurant supply companies began stocking kitchens with replacement products.

Big fast food chains that relied heavily on the old oils, from Burger King to Carl's Jr. to Kentucky Fried Chicken, announced they would eliminate the stuff from their fryers nationwide.

Even McDonald's, which had anguished over the potential impact on its french fries, said its phase-in of the new oils in thousands of restaurants has gone unnoticed by customers.

"The transition has been absolutely seamless," said spokesman Walt Riker.

While the city health department hasn't finished tallying results of a recent survey on oil use, there is evidence that smaller restaurants are ready too.

A special help line, set up by the city for chefs trying to reform their kitchens, has been lightly used.

The ease of the switch to zero-trans oils may have been aided by the behind-the-scenes work of seed and oil companies.

Resistance to the ban still exists, but it may be primarily on philosophical grounds.

Mat Arnfield, the chef at A Salt & Battery, a much-loved Manhattan fish and chips shop, said any cooks still complaining about the change aren't concerned with taste.

The primary difference between the trans-fat oils and their alternatives, he said, is cost. The blend of corn and canola oils he uses in his frying bins now is slightly more expensive than the partially hydrogenated vegetable oils rich in trans fats, but the price difference is small.

"If they are cutting corners that much," he said of restaurants reluctant to switch, "I wouldn't really trust those guys to make me a plate of food anyway."

Restaurants in the city had never kicked too hard over taste considerations, but they had chafed at the idea that anyone should be telling them how to cook.

And there is still some question about whether the ingredients restaurants are using instead of trans fats are just as bad for you. Restaurants can comply by switching to a cooking oil high in saturated fat, which could clog your arteries almost as quickly.

The tougher transition on trans fats could come a year from now, when the city has ordered artificial trans fats out of all products, not just oils and spreads.

Experts say it may be more difficult to find a good replacement for partially hydrogenated vegetable shortenings, which give baked goods like cookies and crackers their characteristic texture.

"That is definitely a more challenging environment," said Bill McCullough, a marketing director for St. Louis-based Bunge Oils.

Alternatives are available, he said, but culinary researchers are still at work on something that will have the taste and texture of butter or lard and the shelf life of a hydrogenated product high in trans fats.

"We realize as an organization that it is just a matter a time before hydrogenation is gone," he said. Bunge has already stopped marketing products containing artificial trans fats, McCullough said.

"We decided it would be like marketing Marlboro Red cigarettes."

June 27, 2007

The California Assembly passed the Mendoza bill banning trans fat by a vote of 42 to 27. Now it's on to the California Senate.

Click here to read the story.