1/29/2007
Has McDonald's finally done it?
Has McD's finally come out with trans-fat-free oil, a feat that several other fast food places have done?
In this article in the Chicago Tribune, McDonald's says it has found a new oil after testing 18 varieties and more than 50 blends of oil during the last seven years.
The chain says it has been testing its new formula in 1,200 of its American restaurants. And the Tribune reporter's taste test went quite well.
However, the timetable for the launch is ONE WHOLE YEAR. Why one whole year? The article notes that there is a limited supply of the special high-oleic-acid canola and soybean seeds needed for the oil. But why one year? Not clear.
Also, Wendy's has run into problems where independent tests still show trans fat in its fries. One reason why Wendy's and McDonald's may run into problems is that they are partially cooked before they hit the oil. If fries are first cooked in trans fat, that trans fats stay around, even if the finishing oils are trans-fat-free.
At Balance of Food, we wish McDonald's success in this venture. Then again, McDonald's in Australia already have trans-fat-free oil, and Sweden, Norway, and Finland will get them later this year or early next year. All we want is what they have.
# posted by ChadR @ 1/29/2007 12:01:00 AM 
