Consumerist: trans fats

9 Foods You're Not Allowed To Buy

Meg Marco — Fri, 02 May 2008 12:37:05 EDT

Fortune magazine has compiled a list of 9 "forbidden' foods that have been banned (for some reason or another) in the US. Trans fats in NYC, foie gras in Chicago... Here's the list:

Trans fats
Banned in: New York City
Raw milk
Banned in: 21 states
Absinthe
Banned in: The U.S. (sort of: Absinthe is legal in the United States, contrary to popular belief, as long as the spirit's levels of thujone - a toxic chemical present in wormwood, one of the herbs used to make absinthe - do not surpass the Food and Drug Administration's limit of 10 parts per million.)
Foie Gras
Banned in: Chicago
Uncertified Chilean sea bass
Banned in: The U.S.
Horse meat
Banned in: California, Illinois and other states
Wild Beluga caviar
Banned in: The U.S.
Shark fins
Banned in: The U.S.
High-fructose corn syrup
On the endangered list in: San Francisco

What do you think of food bans? Some people are willing to risk breaking laws to smuggle raw milk across state lines... only to get diphtheria. Are you among them?

9 forbidden foods [Fortune Small Business] (Thanks, Stacy!)
(Photo: Unhindered By Talent )

Coffee Shop Accidentally Forwards Embarassing Internal Emails To Customer

Meg Marco — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:23:41 EST

Reader X sends us an internal email chain that was accidentally forwarded by some executives at Beaner's Coffee.

The customer was writing in to inquire as to when trans fats would be eliminated from Beaner's products. In addition to a cheerful reply, said customer was also treated to the internal email chain instructing the Vice President of Operations on how to "sidestep the question."

Well, that's embarrassing.

Companies are racing to take out trans fats ...

Ben Popken — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 21:36:21 EST

Companies are racing to take out trans fats from their products. But what of the fats they're replacing them with? [WSJ via Consumer World Blog]

Burger King Sued For Taking Too Long To Drop Trans Fat

Meg Marco — Mon, 21 May 2007 14:53:00 EDT

Anything KFC can do, Burger King should be able to do too, right? That's what the Center For Science in the Public Interest is saying with a lawsuit against Burger King accusing the chain of dragging its heels on the trans fat issue.

Taco Bell and KFC have dropped trans fats, as has Wendy's. McDonald's has completed the transition process in 1,200 stores and will be trans-fat free by the end of 2008. So what's the big hold up, Burger King? It's not like there is no trans fat in your food. The CSPI says:

Numerous fried and non-fried foods at Burger King have alarming levels of trans fat, according to CSPI. A King-size Onion Rings has 6 grams of trans fat. A regular-size order of Chicken Tenders with a large order of French fries has 8 grams of trans. A Sausage Biscuit with a large order of Hash Browns has an astounding 18 grams of trans fat—more than someone should consume in 9 days.

Sounds like BK's food is as plastic as the Burger King's head. Thankfully for your eating enjoyment, the Whopper only has 1.5 grams. Yum. The fries, however, are tragic. 6 grams in a large package. Let's go, BK!—MEGHANN MARCO

Burger King Hit With Trans Fat Lawsuit (Press Release) [CSPI]
Lawsuit targets trans fat use at Burger King [Miami Herald]
(Photo: Morton Fox)

How KFC Went Trans Fat Free

Meg Marco — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 17:51:25 EST

Business Week has an interesting article about all the R&D that went into Trans Fat Free KFC.

Hasselo (chief food-innovation officer at KFC ) figures his 62-employee team has tested two dozen oils that do not contain trans fats, or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. They've also spent a third of every work week on the effort over 2 years. Even so, they are still working on a substitute in KFC's biscuits and other baked goods. "Every oil interacts differently with every food," Dedrick notes. "To get everything right is not easy."

Very cool stuff. —MEGHANN MARCO

How KFC Went Trans-Fat Free [Business Week]

[Photo: Brent and MariLynn]

Starbucks Removes Trans Fats, What?

Meg Marco — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 15:09:22 EST

Starbucks baked goods will no longer contain trans fats, at least in Chicago and other major cities, reports Crain's Chicago Business. The restaurant flatly denies the switch is in response to New York City's recent trans fat ban. Starbucks operates about 200 stores in New York City, according to the Starbucks store locater.
"We started the process of reformulating recipes two years ago," [a spokesperson for Starbucks] says. "We try to be proactive and stay ahead of the curve on things."
Last year, the company introduced trans fat-free cranberry bliss bars nationwide "but we didn't let people know that."

In other news, Starbucks baked crap has trans fats? That stuff is in everything!

"Starting in September, other seasonal items sold nationwide such as pumpkin cream cheese muffins and gingerbread loaves have been free of trans fats. And each week since mid-December, Starbucks has been quietly swapping out other items containing trans fat in Chicago and other cities." —MEGHANN MARCO

Starbucks cuts trans fats [Crain's Chicago Business]

Food Industry Funded Group Really Worried (For You) About Trans Fat Bans

Ben Popken — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 14:08:41 EST

The Center for Consumer Freedom posted a full page ad in today's USATODAY.

The headline reads: "Hey New York: Here's What's Next. Now that New York has banned cooking oils with trans fat (the same substance as margarine) because there are healthier alternatives, it opens the door to banning so much more! Using the same logic, let's get rid of:"

The Center for Consumer Freedom is a non-prof org funded by donations from the fast food, meat, and tobacco industries. They started with a $600k donation from Philip Morris and are really concerned about regulations limiting your ability to eat dangerous substances. — BEN POPKEN

Full ad inside...

Good thing they haven't banned agribusiness paying so-called think tanks to shill with snarky full-page ads. — MEGHANN MARCO

BAN EVERYTHING!!! [Copyranter]
Consumer Freedom [Official Site]

Taco Bell To Cut Trans Fats

Meg Marco — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 12:00:30 EST

From Yahoo News: "Taco Bell will be the latest fast-food chain to cut artery-clogging trans fats from cooking oils in its U.S. restaurants, the company announced Thursday.

The nation's largest seller of quick service Mexican-style foods uses the oils to fry its nachos, taco salad shells, potatoes, chalupa shells and other items.

"This is something we've been working on for over two years, and we just believe it's the right thing and the right changes to make in our products," said Warren Widicus, Taco Bell's chief food innovation officer."

Wait, We're sorry... Warren Widicus, Taco Bell's chief food innovation officer? How hard is that job? Warren, buddy, we need 6 more ways to combine ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, and a tortilla.... and we need it right now.

It's either the hardest job in America or the easiest, we can't tell.

Anyway, yeah. Less trans fats. —MEGHANN MARCO

Taco Bell to stem use of trans fats [Yahoo! News]

The Colonel Axes Trans Fats

Meg Marco — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 13:04:47 EST

According to the New York Times, KFC chicken will no longer contain trans fats.

"The war against trans fat registered a major victory yesterday as Kentucky Fried Chicken — whose main course is deep fried — announced that it would remove the artery-clogging substance from its fryers.

KFC said it would replace partially hydrogenated soybean oil with a type of soybean oil that does not contain trans fat at its 5,500 restaurants in the United States."

Hydrogenated oils will remain in the biscuits, desserts and various other KFC products.

We think fast food peer pressure is so cute. McDonald's has been talking about switching to non-hydrogenated oils since 2002, but hasn't bothered to do it. KFC plans to have completed the switch by April. Could this mean that KFC's customer base is more health conscious than McD's?

[Photo: Brent and MariLynn]