Wendy's Wages War on Trans Fats

Wendy’s may be North America’s third-largest burger chain, but it has bested McDonald’s, the world’s biggest, in one important area: in slashing trans fats, or trans fatty acids, from its chicken and fries. Beginning in August, Wendy's will switch to a new proprietary blend of corn oil and soy oil that will reduce trans fats in its breaded chicken and french fries by an average of 95 percent. This means its large serving of fries that currently contains 7 grams of trans fats will contain just 0.5 grams after the change; and trans fats in kids’ fries will be reduced from 3.5 grams to a welcome zero grams.

The new oil blend also cuts saturated fat from these products by an average of 20 percent. This switch is the culmination of more than a year’s search by Wendy’s to find an acceptable-tasting, cost-effective blend of oils to replace hydrogenated oil. In test markets, consumers were said to be unable to taste the difference in fries made with the new oil. The only difference for Wendy's is that the new oil has a shorter shelf life than the old.

Meanwhile, McDonald’s continues its search for an acceptable substitute for the oil it uses for its french fries.

More on Trans Fats

• What are Trans Fats?
• Hydrogenated Oils
• Quiz on Trans Fats
• Good Fats, Bad Fats, Worst Fats