LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- KFC Corp. said yesterday that it is converting all of its 5,500 fried chicken 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 the company said follows more than 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.
The announcement was made in New York City, where the Board of Health held its first public hearing Monday on a plan to make New York the first U.S. city to ban restaurants from serving food containing artificial trans fats, added an Associated Press report.
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 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.
KFC is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands Inc., Louisville, Ky.
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