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KFC jumps on diet bandwagon
Amid growing public pressure, the fast-food eatery announces that it's switching to a no-trans-fat frying oil.
By MSN Money staff with wires Colonel Sanders is putting America on a diet.
KFC, a unit of Yum! Brands (YUM, news, msgs), announced today that it will switch to a cooking oil with no trans fat in all its U.S. fried-chicken restaurants by April 2007.
KFC joins hamburger chain Wendy's International (WEN, news, msgs) in a move to cut its use of the artery-clogging oil at a time when fast-food restaurants have come under criticism that their food contributes to obesity.
The Cheesecake Factory (CAKE, news, msgs) chain also made news this summer when it announced that it was testing a trans fat-free menu in its Los Angeles stores.
Fast-food chains are scrambling to avoid a legal and popular backlash against the cooking fat.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest sued KFC earlier this year, claiming the food chain?s use of cooking oil containing trans fat is unhealthy. (CSPI said today that it applauded the KFC move.)
McDonald's (MCD, news, msgs) paid $8.5 million last year to settle a lawsuit over artery-clogging trans fat in its cooking oils, agreeing to donate $7 million to the American Heart Association and spend an additional $1.5 million to inform the public of its trans-fat plans. Krispy Kreme's cautionary tale
Anyone who doubts the impact of diet fads on company performance can look at the history of one-time stock-market darling Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD, news, msgs).
The doughnut maker went public with much fanfare in 2000, but then watched its stock plunge 75% in 2004 amid a low-carb Atkins craze.
Krispy Kreme shares, which once traded as high as $39.74, were up almost 1% at $9.89 this morning.
A New York ban?
The KFC announcement comes as New York City's Board of Health begins weighing a proposal that would make it the first U.S. city to ban restaurants from serving food containing artificial trans fats.
The first public hearing on the matter is today, although the board is not expected to make a decision until December.
McDonald's promised in 2002 to reduce trans fat in some of its products. While the chain has introduced healthier foods -- such as apple and walnut salads -- it has yet to convert its oils entirely, saying that it has not found an alternative that works as well. Some KFCs have already switched
Although KFC's systemwide rollout is set to be completed by April 2007, the company said many of its approximately 5,500 restaurants already have switched to low linolenic soybean oil, replacing partially hydrogenated soybean oil. The move follows a two-year trial to identify cooking oils with the same characteristics as the trans fat.
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 will include Crispy Strips, Wings, Boneless Wings, Honey BBQ, Buffalo and Crispy Snacker Sandwiches, Popcorn Chicken, Twisters and Potato Wedges.
Trans fat increases the low-density lipoprotein, or the so-called bad cholesterol, content of food. Starting this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration made it mandatory for all food products to list their trans-fat content.
Shares of Yum! Brands were unchanged this morning at $58.96 on Friday. The stock has climbed 25% so far this year.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/News/KFCOnDietBandwagon .aspx
Amid growing public pressure, the fast-food eatery announces that it's switching to a no-trans-fat frying oil.
By MSN Money staff with wires Colonel Sanders is putting America on a diet.
KFC, a unit of Yum! Brands (YUM, news, msgs), announced today that it will switch to a cooking oil with no trans fat in all its U.S. fried-chicken restaurants by April 2007.
KFC joins hamburger chain Wendy's International (WEN, news, msgs) in a move to cut its use of the artery-clogging oil at a time when fast-food restaurants have come under criticism that their food contributes to obesity.
The Cheesecake Factory (CAKE, news, msgs) chain also made news this summer when it announced that it was testing a trans fat-free menu in its Los Angeles stores.
Fast-food chains are scrambling to avoid a legal and popular backlash against the cooking fat.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest sued KFC earlier this year, claiming the food chain?s use of cooking oil containing trans fat is unhealthy. (CSPI said today that it applauded the KFC move.)
McDonald's (MCD, news, msgs) paid $8.5 million last year to settle a lawsuit over artery-clogging trans fat in its cooking oils, agreeing to donate $7 million to the American Heart Association and spend an additional $1.5 million to inform the public of its trans-fat plans. Krispy Kreme's cautionary tale
Anyone who doubts the impact of diet fads on company performance can look at the history of one-time stock-market darling Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD, news, msgs).
The doughnut maker went public with much fanfare in 2000, but then watched its stock plunge 75% in 2004 amid a low-carb Atkins craze.
Krispy Kreme shares, which once traded as high as $39.74, were up almost 1% at $9.89 this morning.
A New York ban?
The KFC announcement comes as New York City's Board of Health begins weighing a proposal that would make it the first U.S. city to ban restaurants from serving food containing artificial trans fats.
The first public hearing on the matter is today, although the board is not expected to make a decision until December.
McDonald's promised in 2002 to reduce trans fat in some of its products. While the chain has introduced healthier foods -- such as apple and walnut salads -- it has yet to convert its oils entirely, saying that it has not found an alternative that works as well. Some KFCs have already switched
Although KFC's systemwide rollout is set to be completed by April 2007, the company said many of its approximately 5,500 restaurants already have switched to low linolenic soybean oil, replacing partially hydrogenated soybean oil. The move follows a two-year trial to identify cooking oils with the same characteristics as the trans fat.
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 will include Crispy Strips, Wings, Boneless Wings, Honey BBQ, Buffalo and Crispy Snacker Sandwiches, Popcorn Chicken, Twisters and Potato Wedges.
Trans fat increases the low-density lipoprotein, or the so-called bad cholesterol, content of food. Starting this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration made it mandatory for all food products to list their trans-fat content.
Shares of Yum! Brands were unchanged this morning at $58.96 on Friday. The stock has climbed 25% so far this year.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/News/KFCOnDietBandwagon .aspx
