Fast food chains using much less trans fat

Abstract

Over the last decade, major fast food chains have significantly reduced their use of trans fat in the oils they use to cook French fries and other food. That’s according to research from the University of Minnesota’s Nutrition Coordinating Center. Lead researcher Lisa Harnack says the center maintains a food and nutrient database that goes back to the 1970s. “And so we’re able to go back in time and compare the present with the past. And we did that in looking at fast food restaurants,” Harnack said. “We found that fast food restaurants are making big improvements in the frying oils, with trans fat going down in most of the restaurants – as well as saturated fat, either going down or staying the same.” Harnack says the findings are relatively good news for consumers who frequent fast-food restaurants. But she also offers a word of caution. “This change is really great from a public health perspective because the average American gets about 10 percent of their calories from fast food restaurants. So, the good news is that if you’re someone who eats regularly at fast food restaurants, odds are if you are eating at one of the major chains, the frying oil that they are using has a low amount of the bad fats in it,” she said. “Still, though, you need to be concerned when eating at fast food restaurants. Many of the menu items are high in calories and high in sodium, so be watching for those things when you are choosing from the menus or choosing a restaurant to eat at.”