Mon 30 Oct 2006
KFC Corp. said Monday it will start using zero trans fat soybean oil for its Original Recipe and Extra Crispy fried chicken, Potato Wedges and other menu items.
The news preceded the Board of Health’s 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.
KFC’s systemwide rollout is to be completed by April 2007, but the company said many of its approximately 5,500 restaurants already have switched to low linolenic soybean oil, replacing partially hydrogenated soybean oil.
Some might be thinking “wait a minute, they change all their restaurants because of a new rule in one city?” Well, consider how large the food service industry there is. Functionally, NYC banning transfat is like if a small state banned it.
BTW: yes, despite the image of this being some yahoos against a conglomerate, there is a corporatist angle…
KFC isn’t the only business preparing for a trans-fat-free future.
Dow AgroScience, a maker of three types of zero-trans-fat canola and sunflower seed oils, said it has ramped up production capacity to 1.5 billion pounds a year enough to replace about a third of the 5 billion pounds of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil sold annually in the U.S.
Gee, ya think they provide backing to groups like CSPI?
Speaking of whom, those of you out there who respond to their criticism with something beyond “well damn, it’s fried chicken! It’s not supposed to be good for you!” have them to blame for transfat in the first place:
Invented in the early 1900s, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil was initially believed to be a healthy substitute for natural fats like butter or lard. It was also cheaper, performed better under high heat and had a longer shelf life. Today, the oil is used as a shortening in baked goods like cookies, crackers and doughnuts, as well as in deep frying.
Ironically, many big fast food companies only became dependent on hydrogenated oil a decade and a half ago when they were pressured by health groups to do something about saturated fat. (emphasis mine)
Here’s a suggestion: stop treating people like babies. The average person with a functioning brain knows that certain foods are worse than others, and either they avoid them, exercize to compensate for eating them, or they frankly don’t give a shit. This type of activism is painted as being in defense of “the little guy”, when in reality it’s an insult. KFC obviously has the resources to comply with something like this easily, the local restaurants probably don’t. Yet another disproportionate burden…
November 2nd, 2006 at 10:20 am
I knew something had gone horribly wrong with KFC. When I was a kid, original recipe was so excellent, but for the last 10 plus years, I could hardly stand it. If dropping transfat leads to better chicken, hurrah. But it should be the pressures of the market, not central planning by nannies, that leads to the change.
November 2nd, 2006 at 8:17 pm
Since we’re talkin chicken… is it just me, or is it hard as hell to marinate chicken properly — or any other poultry for that matter? I love to get creative with marinating meats, but I don’t have much luck on that front w/ chicken, can’t get the flavors IN the meat for nothin’. End up just havin to stick w/ puttin hot sauce on it after cooking.
When it comes to havin someone else fry some up for me, personally I prefer Popeyes. Just the chicken though, the sides suck. I dunno if it’s incompetance or intentional but I don’t remember a time when the sides actually had the kind of flavor they rave about.
November 3rd, 2006 at 10:33 am
To marinate the chicken, you have to cut little slices into it and make sure your seasoning gets into those slices. Otherwise, that film on the surface of the meat will act as a barrier. Also, stuff some of your concoction inside the piece. I find that dry rubs work better with chicken.