Why Trans Fats Are Still Dining Out

Wall Street Journal
June 7, 2006

By RICHARD GIBSON

Trans fats are a recognized health hazard -- artery cloggers lurking in many foods. Yet when it comes to eating out, the substance is regarded much like an obnoxious guest at a nearby table: Most consumers pretend he isn't there, while few restaurants tell him to leave.

Restaurateurs offer a variety of reasons for not acting, including worries that eliminating trans fats will change how foods taste and hurt their sales.

Their primary trade group, the National Restaurant Association, also contends that there isn't enough trans-fat-free cooking oil to supply the nation's 925,000 restaurants and food-service locations -- an argument that oil suppliers challenge.

"We can produce a lot of oil. Last year, we grew more crop than we had actual demand for," said David Dzisiak, global business leader for oils at Dow AgroSciences, a unit of Dow Chemical Co.

He said the company is prepared to double production to more than 1.2 billion pounds of oil -- enough, he said, to "supply a tremendous amount of restaurant chains." Dow AgroSciences markets several proprietary canola and sunflower oils to the restaurant industry.

Alan Willits, an executive at the other major producer of such oils, Cargill Inc., said, "If a major company wanted to convert, it would be at least 12 months' lead time to grow the seed and have oil available."

A recent study on obesity financed by the Food and Drug Administration urged restaurants to promote more-healthful foods and give customers information on the nutritional content of what they are ordering.

However, because it has no regulatory authority over restaurants, the FDA can only suggest such changes. Even though evidence is growing that trans fats are a cause of heart disease, state legislatures, which can mandate nutrition information disclosure, have yet to do so.

For its part, the restaurant association said it opposes "any type of government mandate requiring nutrition labeling for restaurants."

The potential impact of such information on diners is in dispute. A survey by consultant NPD Group Inc. found that while most consumers know that trans fats should be avoided, they largely abandon that goal when dining out.

"Sales of a number of the restaurant foods containing trans fats are growing, such as fried-chicken sandwiches, crackers and cookies," the report, issued recently, said.

Trans fat is a solid created when vegetable oil is heated through what is called partial hydrogenation -- a process that extends its shelf life. Health authorities contend that trans fats not only can clog arteries but also reduce "good" cholesterol and increase "bad" cholesterol in the blood.

Several chains that have attacked the issue cite the pursuit of healthier eating.

"As medical knowledge became more prevalent, it was something we felt we needed to respond to," California Pizza Kitchen Inc. Co-Chief Executive Rick Rosenfield said of his chain's extensive effort to remove trans fats from its menu.

That endeavor included persuading purveyors of an array of items to swap out their cooking oils. Despite a concern often cited by restaurateurs, Mr. Rosenfield said there have been no customer complaints about food tastes as a result of the changes.

While Ruby Tuesday Inc. recognized that ridding trans fats was "the good thing and the right thing to do," Senior Vice President Richard Johnson said the casual-dining chain hasn't "made a lot of noise" about its campaign to do so.

Trans-fat-free oils typically cost more than other cooking substances, but there are tradeoffs.

Legal Sea Foods President Roger Berkowitz said his 31-restaurant, Boston-based chain found that foods cooked in trans-fat-free substances absorbed less oil, so there was a saving.

The biggest challenge Legal faced was finding trans-fat-free oyster crackers, Mr. Berkowitz said. Indeed, many baked goods are made with shortenings containing trans fats, and the chain had to search for a baker that could comply with its new specifications.

Panera Bread Co., a sandwich-shop chain, said it took a year to get trans fats out of its baked goods and off its menu. Its cooks now employ a variety of oils -- among them palm and vegetable-based -- as well as butter.

Some other chains say they are working on the issue.

"We are continuing to ... test alternative cooking oils for potential rollout," a Wendy's International Inc. spokesman said.

A representative of Burger King Holdings Inc. wouldn't be more specific beyond saying, "We're always looking at options [and] evaluate alternatives."

McDonald's Corp. declined repeated requests to discuss why it has taken several years more than it initially thought to convert to trans-fat-free french fries in the U.S. -- something it makes in Denmark and Israel.

While the process is "taking longer than anticipated ... we continue to progress in our testing and we are determined to get it right for our customers," said Catherine Adams, McDonald's vice president of world-wide quality systems, food safety and nutrition.

A major concern is believed to be taste. Will cooking fries in a different oil change its flavor profile, which could hurt sales of one of its most popular, profitable items?

Other considerations restaurateurs cite are functionality -- whether, for example, a trans-fat-free oil can stand up the rigors of repeated frying. Also, what is the oil's nutrition profile. Palm oil is largely trans-fat-free, but contains saturated fats.


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