USAToday: Dunkin' Donuts dumping most trans fats, 8/27/07

* Dunkin' Donuts "has developed an alternative cooking oil (a new blend of palm, soybean and cottonseed oils) and reformulated more than 50 menu items — doughnuts included. The Canton, Mass.-based chain says its menu will be "zero grams trans fat" by Oct. 15 across its 5,400 U.S. restaurants in 34 states." ... "Dunkin's announcement follows about four years of research of more than 28 alternative cooking oils and proprietary blends."

*"The ice cream chain Baskin-Robbins, another unit of Dunkin' Brands, plans to be zero grams trans fat by Jan. 1."

* "Dunkin' isn't claiming it will become "trans fat free," but does say any trans fat in foods including doughnuts, croissants, muffins and cookies will fall below half a gram per serving. Federal regulations allow food labels to say they have zero grams of trans fat, provided levels fall below the half-gram threshold." ... "Mainstream doughnut makers' products can have around 5 grams of trans fat apiece."

*Jeff Cronin, spokesman for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based non-profit, "cautioned that when it comes to Dunkin's doughnuts, 'We're still talking about a food that's mostly white flour, sugar, and fat.'"

*"'The goal was not to make a healthy doughnut, it was really to create a doughnut that was better,' said Joe Scafido, Dunkin's chief creative and innovation officer. 'Certainly, we did not create a healthy doughnut.'"

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-08-27-dunkin-donuts_N.htm

nytimes: 'Want Some Trans Fats With Those Fries?', 8/2/07

blog posting by Sewell Chan

* "As of July 1, restaurants were required to make sure that all oils, shortening and margarine containing artificial trans fat used for frying or for spreads have less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. (Oils and shortening used to deep fry yeast dough and cake batter are not included in the deadline.) By the second deadline — July 1, 2008 — all foods must have less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving if they have any artificial trans fat. (Packaged foods served in the manufacturer's original packaging are exempt.)"

* "The federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the American Heart Association, and other health authorities recommend that people consume no more than 2 grams of trans fat per day. 'That's about as much as occurs naturally in milk and meat, leaving virtually no room for artificial trans fat from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil,' the center said in a statement. Trans fats are said to raise levels of "bad" cholesterol, which promotes heart disease. Unlike saturated fats, trans fats also lower the 'good' cholesterol that helps guard against heart disease."

* "'French fries are fried twice, once in the factory and once in the restaurant,' said Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. 'If these chains want to claim they are switching to trans-fat-free frying oil, they need to switch it at the supplier as well as at the restaurant. Burger King and Wendy's are really deceiving consumers with the public statements they've made about trans fat, which don't tell the whole story. McDonald's, on the other hand, has proven that restaurants can truly eliminate artificial trans fat.'